38yrs ago today, at roughly the 6am hour,
I rose from my bed, walked down the stairs,
flipped the power to the stereo on.
John Lennon’s voice filled the house:
Give peace a chance.
Yes, John, I will, today.
I moved from the polished hardwood floor of the living room
to the Italian tile in the kitchen,
cut the tarot deck on the counter:
Three of Hearts.
Not promising.
I began to make coffee:
Water on, filter, coffee.
Song changed, no DJ:
A Day in the Life
I let the dog out.
Little feet touched the floor upstairs.
Pitter-patter.
The dog barked.
I thought about the balance
Good music, bad card.
I took the glass carafe moved from sink to counter
DJ spoke: today we dedicate our show to
The late John Lennon,
The late…
shot in New York last night.
Shot
The muscles in my hand stopped working
Carafe moved towards the tiled floor
Water comes up out of it.
Droplets, like tears, scattering in the air
This way and that.
Silence filled the universe for an eternity
Water to the sky
Shards of glass shattered across the kitchen
Washed away by water, tears
Light refracting through
Rainbows everywhere.
I didn’t realize I was crying.
The dog barked.
The child stopped.
I reached for the counter—something solid
All across
The universe fractured.
I thought about the gentle man in Central Park
Kissing my cheek.
Brushing a hand across a wild wisp of my hair
Smiling.
Another frozen moment.
Coffee water tears washed my cheek
Imagine all the people...
It filled all of the space around me
In me. Imagine
Oh, John, if only we were sleeping...
Blissfully unknowing
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one...
On the day the music died.
I read the news today, oh boy.
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