Final
the question concerns all the creatures living within you
you write your name in the appropriate place the date
already you're taking too long
already you're late and getting later
already your loved ones are leaving
already you've started over
already to no avail
if you knew how this subject of all subjects eluded you
would you know where to look for it
whether your name is written backward or forward
and those numbers what they mean
your hand the one holding the pen your mind
already your mind
James Baker Hall
The Mother on the Other Side of the World
Sarabande Books
Copyright © 1999 by James Baker Hall.
All rights reserved.
Reproduced by Poetry Daily with permission.
<http://www.poems.com/>
janet paterson
52 now / 41 dx / 37 onset
PO Box 171 Almonte Ontario K0A 1A0 Canada
a new voice http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Village/6263/
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