Non Moments
/roll to a stop behind twenty other cars
waiting for the flagman to let you proceed
lean your head on your hand
fuming about construction zones
power outages doctors' waiting rooms
where overhead clocks tick to show you
your appointment was fifteen minutes
twenty-five minutes forty minutes ago
objecting your life away
dreaming of being somewhere else
mumbling get on with it
fidgeting fingers tapping foot
get on with what when you roll to a halt
twenty cars between you and the flagman
get on with what when you are thrust
into forty-eight hours of darkness
when the waiting room clock clicks
to tell you the doctor is one hour late
get on with life you say but what about
life in all those non-moments
does it seep into another reality
freeze like a stored embryo does it die
then come back to life when the flagman
turns his sign from stop to slow
when the lights come on
when the receptionist calls your name
get on with life you say
these non-moments are a nuisance
we should do away with them you say
then life speaks
what you call non-moments
are presents of presence
By Ellen Dooling Reynard
From: United States