a personal assault at high noon
it was like any other day
the sun rising in the east
a blackbird on the second
story windowsill
pretending to be a rooster
and so I awakened
& rose to my feet
prepared to dare as I also do
going through the motions
(as they say)
early morning until noon
it was then my pulse
began to race
the watch on my wrist
telling me so
beating ninety times per minute
then one hundred
one ten
one twenty
and so on & so forth
dormant memories appeared
out of nowhere
visions before my very eyes
—I reached out my hands
to grasp them
to press them against my beating heart
but they proved to be as fleeting
as life itself
and quickly vanished
into thin air
august two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
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