A Moment of Tranquility

The day, the decade has ended
with a surprising sunset, with a peace
often sought, rarely felt. A sense
that all will be well. That you are loved enough
and that you love enough
that your heart can be at peace, filled
not so much with giddy happiness,
but a quiet joy.

And so there you are,
wishing the sun would stop its slow decline to the west,
but understanding that is not how the universe works,
that perfect moments pass as inevitably
as the glimpses of hell we are forced to live in
from time to time. And so…. and so
you live in the darkening moment
at peace. All of your life has led to this,
just as it will lead to whatever is next
as the sun falls, and prepares to rise again,
not unlike your own life.

And so, for this moment, you bask in the peace
as the tree peepers begin to sing
and the whiporwill cries at a distance.
Waiting for nothing. Feeling it all.

About this poem.

A birthday (yesterday) that I was determined would simply be an ordinary day ended extraordinarily. Not unlike my life so far. A poem of gratitude for so many things that it proves my theory that poetry is never about one thing. Even when it is.

The photograph was taken at the salt marshes at Cape Cod.

Tom