if there is time . . .

(my poem contribution to The Sixth International Multicultural-Multilingual Poetry reading, 19 March 2006 @ Latin American Cultural Centre, Fredericton, NB)

if there is time to sit in front of a computer
an converse with impossibly faraway friends
and if there is enough exhaustion to afternoon nap
then fall asleep repeatedly in front of a tv
and if travel’s elliptic return discovers
grapes becoming raisin in a refrigerator
and if a not watched kettle boils three times
before its hot water gets poured on coffee
and if everyone gets to tell their story
there might be less human destruction

and if a hurricane has destroyed this year
then an abysmal silence has reclaimed
and if a cowboy drops a match burning
sulphurous into neighbouring bushes
and if a pigeon atop a statue head
of state religion industry is death
and if school buses continue gathering
then dropping children in institutions
and if come-down leaves clog gutters
backed-up waters pool and freeze

and if sudden winter hits fiercely
during extended construction season
and if this is a one-minute survey
but the other an essay question worth
and if morning departure for afternoon
arrival means a short work friday
and if waking for dawn’s arrival
is another’s high noon waiting
and if there’s an end to possibilities
then this is rendered meaningless

—Joe Blades © 2006

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