I saw the end
in the beginning
at the beginning
of the end
I wrote the final chapter
before the preface
with nothing left
to send
I walked 1000 miles
before sitting down
then walked 1000 miles
again
To reach the end of
the beginning
the beginning of
the end
(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2015)
Two Hours Before Dawn
It’s two hours before dawn,
and I’ve slept through the night
The rarest occurrence,
but her footsteps come light
She let me sleep soundly,
and she let me dream free
Before entering my bedroom
and calling to me
“Kurt, it’s Laura, she whispered,
as she got into bed
“Are you happy in the solitude
alone in your head
“Your spirit’s been truant
but its voice I recalled
“Wake up from your sleep
and follow me down the hall
“I’ve something to show you,
so rub out your eyes
“And see what you looked like
as a boy about five
She led me straight down
to the end of the hall
The door was half open
and my voice I heard call
“Aunt Laura, my crayons
have broken again
“Aunt Laura, get ready,
I’ve new words to begin
“The ones that you left me,
I now know by heart
“And to Mother and Father
I recited each part”
The boy smiled at her,
and she smiled back at him
Before walking me back down
to my room deep within
“I’ve always been with you,
you know it so clear
“As your Muse I’ve been charged
with your care all these years
“You were young when I met you
and took you by hand
“Then to never abandon
your voice as a man
“Your days may come easy,
and your days may come hard
“But each night I’ll return
—with new words from afar”
(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2018)