Poem: Documentation

Documentation

This day I observe
My street and find I
Can be glad--even,
In gifted moments,
Rejoice--that all things
Are so much themselves.
Each house has its own
Infelicities,
Comforts, history;
So do those who live
There: such length! Such depth!

Neither parliaments
Nor kings, nor those whose
Business it is, could
Replicate this most
Canine bouncing dog,
Whose ancestry goes
Back as far as mine.
This girl, playing with
Her dog, is who she
Very is because
She is the reason
For evolution
Of the universe:
No decision since
Creation could be
Other than it is
Yet she be herself:
Dusty and jumping
And undignified.

In every leaf, blade,
Shadow, song, and breath
This day pours on, in
Volatility
Of gold, in logic
Of diamonds, in
Grace and compassion
Of silver, until
It has gone, and will
Never be again.
Where else could I go?
Go, and miss all this?

Reporters failed to
Send mobile units.
No one is asking
Obvious questions
With a microphone.
Nevertheless I
Have lived today, on
My own street, through an
Historic event
In all its details.
Perhaps there was one
On your street also.
I was here. Were you
There?


This was completed on December 10, 1980.