Creation & Gone
2 Poems
By Bob McAfee
Creation
Imagine the earth at the moment of birth
Savor the mystery implied
Hurled into space out of time out of place
A world, come along for the ride
An explosion of light rips the calm of the night
A slap from the back of God’s hand
Or occurring by chance, what a hell of a dance
Stirring and startling and grand
Several eons have passed and we’re cooling at last
As the mountains burst up through the seas
The moon gazes down at us fools on the ground
Soon we’re changing as fast as you please
Simple creatures are we, swimming footless and free
Now we’re growing in function and size
Then we rise from the foam, claim the earth as our home
Tame the valleys, the mountains, the skies
Imagine the dawn and the beings now gone
Who graced the world’s stage for a song
Gasping for breath at the moment of death
Oh God, have we lasted too long?
Gone
The moon passes behind a cloud
darkness now’s not just a word
blackness settles like a shroud
nothing more can be inferred.
___________
Standing out upon the brink
facing the abyss
disappearing with a blink
resurrected with a kiss.
Knowing not what to expect
the road ahead is black.
I vanish in the intersect,
never to come back.
Where I was is empty space.
I’ve slipped into the trees.
My ashes gone, I’ve run my race
leaving only memories.
___________
Seven dancing angels breaking open seven scrolls
Six continents exploding at the seams
Five billion years contracting into Black Holes
Four horsemen riding darkly through my dreams
Three gods call out a warning
Two doves fly out at morning
One bitter final song and then I’m
Gone.
Bob McAfee is a retired software consultant who lives with his wife near Boston. He has written eight books of poetry, mostly on love, aging, and the natural world, and has had more than 60 poems selected by over 20 different publications. For the last several years he has hosted a Wednesday night Zoom poetry workshop. Visit his website www.bobmcafee.com.