Proustian Bargains

                                                                Proustian Bargains


                                       1.
Paradise was never found but always lost      
some time yesterday, now out of reach,
what was, gains a golden glint when gone
The sights, the sounds, the scent that stays
tells a small truth that leads to a dream
later on redeemable at full face value
as something past but clearly remembered

                                        2.
Once upon a time as the myth once went
that always on the edge of shadows
where the known was eclipsed by mystery
God was there to bridge the light and darkness
Walking side by side with all of us back then
-though as time went by and darkness receded
God drifted to arm's length, then further out
until God occupied the most distant horizon
and shouted loud "you're on your own now"
But even as kings of all we survey
God welcomes the pilgrims who travel far
and travel within, to seek the prize of discovery

                                        3.
A good poem is an incantation, a meditation
an artful mumble of words
that lends some insight into the experience
of being and knowing
In a world where everything can't be explained
a poem is one form of magic
that holds up the heavens, opens the skies
and brings you in on the secret

                                         4.
The temporal dimension
is a one way street
If it wasn't, dread the collision
head on with your past

                                         5.
What if things past, mourned for you
as much as you mourned for them?
Life, a complex commerce of sentimentality,
a long running list of credits and debits
with the balance of our days
ledgered out in unpayable obligations
But how cold do you have to be
-to accept no trade or take on no debts,
to deny yourself the full breath of life
and be saved from having a nostalgic heart?
Really, no heart is complete without a prick of pain
That's just the price you have to pay
for being a mortal and conscious creature

Copyright 2011