Friday, August 29, 2008

Memories

this is how i memorise things
i stare at them
i read them
i watch them
i look at them
until the things i’m staring at must start to feel uncomfortable
or flattered
at the absolute volume of my attention that they receive

lately i’ve taken to keeping a mirror near me
when i’m at home
when i’m at work
or whenever
not out of vanity
but because the person behind that reflection
is changing so rapidly
and i don’t want to lose sight of myself
i study the curve of my lips
the colour of my eyes
i spend hours in focused meditation
on my own mole
so that i can
at the least
know what i look like when i’m doing things that
another me
would never imagine

or
so i know what i look like
when i’m around you

i have to memorise you too
so i ask and ask and ask the same questions
to make sure that i get every detail
just as i’ll read a poem a dozen times
and each time find something new
each time you tell me where you’re from
what you do
your name
i find something new

and eventually i’ll have enough of you
inside my memory
that i can look in the mirror
and see me
and see you
and not see any difference

3 comments:

Frederik said...

I love the exploration in this poem, taking the simplicity of attention and transforming it from the personal ego into the transpersonal. You are in touch with something so unshakable. Your words, to me, are an experiential reminder that our mirrors are simply a reflection of the relationship that We are to Life and always will be.

brokenwhole said...

Hey Kibben, thanks for taking the time to comment on my blog entry about my web-cam days.

Just read some of your poetry - you're really talented. I always wish I could write poetry. But I barely even have time to write my blog, let alone contemplate long enough to write a stanza of poetry!

Thanks, Keith

KibBen said...

Thanks Keith! Don't worry about not writing poetry. You have to just let it fall out. Poetry's hard to force.

One Poem and One Day At A Time

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