You’ll know me when you see me

I am often spoken of in small groups:

the man with the gray hat

the man who sinned and then sinned again

 

When I am first seen, it is a trick of the light

further glimpses bring into focus

shadows crush into my silhouette

“how can someone wear a heavy coat on such a warm day?”

 

I bet you won’t notice my shoes

heavy thump, thump

 

I could just up and leave

head to the forest or to the sands

but I’ll stay

I’ve just come from those places, anyway

 

I know prayers by heart

my patron saint weeps to see me so broken and open

But I trudge on

someone has to keep the oracle chanting

 

The sky is older than the sun

I have seen maps and charts — and laughed

you cannot place a cloud on paper

by the time you copy it, it has moved on

scurrying to arrive before you

 

What of evidence?

proof that we existed

it also cannot be shown to a room full of giants

maps, papers, parchment rolls

 

Never could an author or scribe truly describe

a petal or a promise

or the trail of breadcrumbs that

waves us out of the dusk