Photography © Glenn Bowie

 

Time Passing by

Greens by the handful, chalk in hand,
the tools I used each day as child
and I could fight the dragons, dream
of castles, stroll among their rooms,
on pavement painted, upon old lines
that marked the games of tug of war.

Then shrubs, to hide and seek, explore,
draw ripples by the aid of stones, pools
with expanding circles, clocked by none,
and snowflakes, drawing stairs skywards-
a twinkling imagined upon firmament,
a blink of eye, counting to ten. Life flew me by.

That chalk forgotten, search gone astray,
no rhythmic tide, no snowflake dance-
the mystery of world anew now bartered
for these lurid days, and autumn’s yearn,
buried in paperwork and bills,
same scene is passing by, the secret gone.

How to create that splash once more,
ironic wish in global warming
when even rivers pull their tides, and stones
sharp edges poke, point lack of water,
cacophony of sounds and sights, rampant result
arrived five decades early. So sanitize, don’t wash.

I dream no more, I don’t know how
to draw with chalk, to hide and seek
when all I do is flee from death, and lore
hidden below the lakes I used to draw upon with rocks
now poking sharply in foretelling
until the day when waste is overdue.

 

With a medical degree behind her, writer and poet Patricia Furstenberg authored 18 books about history, folklore, legends. She is the creator and the force that propels the #Im4Ro hashtag and movement. Romanian born, she resides in South Africa.

Glenn Bowie is a published poet, lyricist and photographer from the Boston area. He also owns and operates an elevator company that supplies custom-built elevators for clients from New England to Hollywood. Author of two poetry and photograph collections (Under the Weight of Whispers and Into the Thorns and Honey) on Big Table Publishing, he donates all profits from his books to various charities for the homeless and local animal shelters.