Today's poem is by Annie Stenzel

Cronos devoured his children
       

If only there were merely space between us
and not that bastard, Time, bulging at the seams

with his accumulated potency. Distance
is one thing. Those of us who are able still

scissor several miles into manageable strides each day
leaving the warm air to close behind us, our footsteps

safely tucked into the space between Points A
and B. Begin, proceed, arrive. Repeat.

All that takes place in the barefaced moment
called Now. But what if the journey to be undertaken

stumbles at the border, where the abyss always
yawns, where the guardian of that fatal gap

won't hear a plea for mercy or forgiveness?
You show me an hourglass. The sand never moves.

Copyright © 2024 Annie Stenzel All rights reserved
from Don't misplace the moon
Kelsay Books
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission