Two Poems

Back Seat Driver

As life moves relentlessly
From frame to frame
I watch it from the back row
In the dark

The detective
Knows who the villains are
All he has to do is catch them

Soon a few loose ends
May or may not get tied up
Someone will make a witty comment
And the credits will roll

Then maybe I’ll watch the prequel
Or stumble out into the cold
Streets of reality

I'll stroll
Along a wintry beach
My sun hat at a jaunty angle
To catch the rain

But I’m tired
And even though these seats are uncomfortable
I’m going to have a snooze

Wake me up when it’s all over

Now and Then

When my soul was whole
Before my voice was broken
And the mirror cracked

When the now of then
Before the pipes were frozen
Before melancholy came

When the universe
Gathered like a starry cloak
Before the first star

Collapsed. Before the moon
Waned. When the black hole joked
Above its horizon

When we were alive
Before time clicked into place
And Death’s staff was slender

When my blood crackled
With blue fire. When a cuddle
Was all that mattered

Now we wait. For what?
The sun to consume the Earth
And an early frost.