by Tracy K. Smith

3

Perhaps the great error is believing we’re alone,

That the others have come and gone—a momentary blip—

When all along, space might be choc-full of traffic,

Bursting at the seams with energy we neither feel

Nor see, flush against us, living, dying, deciding,

Setting solid feet down on planets everywhere,

Bowing to the great stars that command, pitching stones

At whatever are their moons. They live wondering

If they are the only ones, knowing only the wish to know,

And the great black distance they—we—flicker in.

Maybe the dead know, their eyes widening at last,

Seeing the high beams of a million galaxies flick on

At twilight. Hearing the engines flare, the horns

Not letting up, the frenzy of being. I want to be

One notch below bedlam, like a radio without a dial.

Wide open, so everything floods in at once.

And sealed tight, so nothing escapes. Not even time,

Which should curl in on itself and loop around like smoke.

So that I might be sitting now beside my father

As he raises a lit match to the bowl of his pipe

For the first time in the winter of 1959.

  • bakerM
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    1 year ago

    I love Tracy K. Smith. A beloved family pet died at 14 a few months ago and her book Life On Mars got me through it.

    edit: also the title here is a 10/10 2001 reference

    • toborOP
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      1 year ago

      Oh, sorry to hear about your loss but I’m glad that book helped you through. This poem helped/is helping me through a rough relationship with my dad. Amazing how poems can be so many things for so many people!