this poem woke me—4:50am
what most healthily marks
our passage through this whirl
is never stone
neither forged metal
nor mute masonry
nothing that sits
nor stands
defiant of time
but rather a quick sensation
potent enough to shape
several generations, e.g.
—the breath
of a baby
well loved
whose own grandchildren also
experience the enabling splendidness
of human touch & caring
a spirit flash which
creates space within us
to pause
& be fed
by the gentle trickle
of ancient rain
every life needs
an inner security system
constantly on,
continuously blinking
sensitively set to alert us
to respond to beauty
regardless of the dawn's shape
or our circumstance thereunder
even if appreciating
means awakening
well before
we are finished
sleeping
—kalamu ya salaam