last night in a trance while listening to rain
my vision ceded to the pretense of other, my body’s form
dissolved to blend into expanse so vast that it had to be me

I gleaned it possible to live for thousands of years

an ancient Sumerian king knew that at 50 years old
he was merely 1% of the way through

it is a matter of expectation,
the believing mind commands the body to obey,
and so unlocks the oldest rooms

what would you do with the time,
would you squander it as now,
would you remember those who perished
in past millennia, would you cry?

will you still have it in you
to blow out all of the candles?

Chagall 2020