Reunion genre: Happy Remembrances & Rhyme-N-Reason
As a follow up to the prior posting on the tragedy at Virginia Tech, it seemed appropriate to share the following poem. I won't offer much explanation but suffice it to say that I wrote it while reflecting on the struggles we all endure to feel whole. It amplifies my concerns about the message we give children as they attempt to make sense of the world and the path they must navigate in order to feel connected.
I included a photo I took in Amsterdam of a building with brightly lit display windows that reminded me of a face with vivid eyes. I find it ironic that our eyes look out into the world when it seems that finding one's self so obviously requires us to look inside.
Feel free to share your own poetry and reflections on seeking to understand the events at Virginia Tech in the comment thread.
REUNION
I walked away from myself
So I could see who was behind me
Suddenly it became clear I had not been alone
The being I glimpsed seemed quite familiar
Had he been in the background for some time?
And yet remained obscured by my shadow
His gate matched mine as if in strident synchronicity
All the while silent and subtle, yet substantial
No words were spoken yet his influence resonated
Can the leader be led by that which follows?
Do the fragments that constitute the persona
Orbit the soul as if attached to a nucleus of necessity?
As I faced my newly found and often felt accomplice
I saw in his eyes a conciliatory connection
But as our eyes met, we both recoiled
Frozen like the charmer and the cobra
Melded together by magnetic minutiae
Yet comforted by the serenity of stasis
Each dared a final look with stoic glances
Knowing I would never walk away again
Without hesitation I returned to myself
Facing forward I resumed the journey
Comforted by my conflation
Strengthened by solidarity
Wholly alive…again…
Daniel DiRito | April 16, 2007 | 9:03 PM
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