Where a Day Lives

Does a day begin in charcoal edges of dawn, the dazzle

of high noon, or when the first star bleeds through?

 

Does it speak quickly with its empty hands?

Does its expression wear too thin to read?

 

Do its words leave ink stains on our fingers?

Do we wink at a day hoping it winks back?

 

Do we lose a day by not reading the overgrowth

of the backyard, the kitchen counter, the desk?

 

Do we find a day by ignoring all that overgrowth

in favor of a green heron lifting from a puddle?

 

Do we forget a day by letting loose the old dog

of ecstatic yearning or weary worries?

 

Or has a day always just been an archway?

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, Ph.D., the 2009-13 Kansas Poet Laureate, is the author of over two dozen books, including the forthcoming Back on Earth (poetry) and recently The Magic Eye: A Story of Saving a Life and a Place in the Age of Anxiety. Founder of Transformative Language Arts, she offers writing workshops, coaching, and collaborative projects.