Seeing the Unseen

“Change” isn’t what we see or unsee;
“Change” is the difference in how we experience
what we see in the unseen.
~Mikavelli~

Life just seems so different now
Not triggered by sudden noises nor crowds
Or perhaps because there just aren’t as many around
Or maybe the echoes just don’t sound as loud

Trains and buses no longer provoke fear
Unwanted strangers no longer draw unnecessarily near
I do have to wonder if I’ve mastered “The Stare”
Or if perhaps they’re now panicked like how I used to be scared

Confronting occasional situations may be a tad frustrating
But they no longer spike to points of unhinged full-blown raging
And though breathing fresh air may sometimes be constraining
We still have the freedom to stay home without a mask while gardening…

So is this a real or is this a dream?
Am I awake or am I asleep?
‘Tis a surreal quiet and an eerie peace
That’s neither a depression nor an anxiety

There is a calm inside of me
Resolute in the stillness of my poetry
That is equally reflected externally
By empty pavements and car-less streets

By bridges that connect around towns and cities
That take us through, over, or around boundaries
That reach unexplored places forming new memories
Allowing for moments to feel the breeze and be happy

There is a fire inside of me
That burns soundlessly slowly, steadily silently
A flame that — to outshine — I once tried, however futilely
Only to discover that it was part of me

It fuels the ink and water that through my veins bleed
The emotions, the memories, each essence of me
Transparently apparent in the words on screen
That flow so freely and unexpectedly

The hands that stroke pages of books so delicately
Are the same that create worlds through words so timelessly
By writing on paper or typing on technology
By running them over black and white piano keys

There is a yearning inside of me
To romanticise each narration of my journey
Be it the heavens, the hells, or even the fantasies
To capture the fibers of each reality

To still be here no matter where I’ve been
To still see with an open mind no matter what I’ve seen
To still love with an open heart that dances to its own beat
To still live from the soul that rejuvenates and heals

To still stand still and understand that I stand still with both my feet
To still take a step forward following stepping stones on the street
To take another step forward then look up and see
There’s a whole new world of wonder wandering towards me

Awaiting me to take the leap
This next daring step of a journey
To step out of the shadows, even if ever so slightly
And take a peek at a whole new part of…

me…?

M.G.