Fading

Finding words to make sense of this existence

It’s World Poetry Day, so I thought I would share a poem I wrote last night before falling asleep just past midnight. Not too much more to say, maybe this says it all.

Fading

It’s like that scene in the movie where the man is running out of time, Polaroid in hand, his image disappearing faster than the ticking of the clock. Time travel can’t save us nor can all of the well-wishes and sorries for your loss. Our loss. Condolences. RIP.

There was a time when we rode roller skates through the neighborhood, dipped in a pool to cool off and laid on the grass, blades poking through thin cotton t-shirts and athletic socks. The earth keeping us from evaporating in the summer heat.

I am still here, trying to make sense of it all, trying to form the words that might put everything in its place.

What if Pandora’s curiosity never opened the box? What if the turns went left, the curse never uttered? What if everything remained the same, preserved on the smooth of the pavement, wheels gliding on? What if you were here?

I don’t have the answers, but I know there was love and place and time and soon it will be Monday again and the coffee will brew and I’ll lean against the counter and think of all the teaspoons of sugar ladled over a lifetime and cry that your sweetness is gone.

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You can now read The Em Dash—from Carla Zanoni in the new Substack app for iPhone.

With the app, you’ll have a dedicated Inbox for my Substack and any others you subscribe to. New posts will never get lost in your email filters, or stuck in spam. Longer posts will never cut-off by your email app. Comments and rich media will all work seamlessly. Overall, it’s a big upgrade to the reading experience.