A Poem For Today - Which Side Are We On?

[KEN DICKINSON]

Which Side Are We On?

Ever since the flock of floaters

broke loose in my eye, I can't tell

whether these birds darted down

from the eaves or up

from the snowcaps of my knees.

Same with the ears: Which crickets

are these? Chirping in the limbs

of which trees? What lonesome beast

lows me to sleep? What sea breaks

on which broken shore?

My optometrist says it all comes in

upside-down with a hole in the middle

anyway a fracas of unsorted data

speeds through, a bewildering

cargo of color and light.

He's trying to console me, but I know

the walls are coming down. The looters

are in, setting off motion detectors,

trip-lights, alarms. Holed up inside

I keep watch for intruders, but who,

at this late date, can tell us from them?

Prathro Sereno

Sent from my iPhone