That ringing in your ears,
Is it far or is it near?
That distant bell
Is a tsunami-
Can’t you tell?
The depth and breadth
Of the chasm
Of denial are resonating;
Gargantuan glaciers melting
The ocean’s water is rising.
What will the future be?
Nothing exists but the present-
except for our footprints,
The seeds we planted,
The children,
The DNA, a Name,
The inimitable quotes,
Anonymous or notorious
There has never been
anyone quite like us.
Black and White
Well-lit head shots
we leave behind-
Ask not for whom the bell tolls-
as you toil in the mundane;
Shopping at Trader Joe’s,
Attending to laundry and clothes-
Manicuring fingers and toes
In the end we are the same.
We never conceived,
We conceived,
The magnitude of force
Coming at us.
Current catastrophes:
Fires, floods, and virus
Know no name.
Ask not for whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for Us!
++++++++
Cheryl Amy Hollander
