In Between the Spaces
Two Poems by
Joseph Roque
Smallest of Things
Most of us have known a nagging
feeling we are missing something
in our lives; that there must be
much more, but we don’t know
what it is. You are not alone.
It is part of human nature to squander
countless hours wishing for things we
can’t, don’t or shouldn’t have—
that is the insane irony of life.
We trivialize the smallest
of things around us; fail to see
the beauty and simplicity
in between the spaces that used
to be important to us—
Children know what these things are:
watch them,
and learn.
What Eternity Looks Like
Love those slow, summer sunsets
by the ocean, reluctant red-orange sphere
feverishly fighting its fall,
sending its last shafts of light skipping
on the waves to make thousands
of dizzy, dancing diamonds
explode into a darkening sky.
Are you afraid of impermanence?
Eternity lives, proves itself
in the ebb and flow of another day’s
safe journey home to these shores─
head full of hopes and dreams
for another chance tomorrow
to make a perfect day, a
peaceful and patient world.
Joseph Roque is a poet whose works have appeared in several literary journals. A collection of his poems, Ashes and Excuses, examines a life journey through triumphs and trials.