Why Are Some Days Narrow?

Why Are Some Days Narrow?

(“But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God…so that our God may enlighten our eyes.” Ezra 9:8)

Why are some days narrow slits letting through
only a ray at a time?
Why do the silent clouds
drown out the robin’s songs?
Here in this heart, vacant for so long,
there is room enough for
the universe.
Here in these eyes, darkened for so long,
there is light enough for
all of us.
Why do some minds that
should have been opened long ago
profess love and
push the stragglers off the narrow road?
Why are most peoples’ gods a filmy image
of animus and prejudice?
Here in this room, filled for 100 years,
sit only 8 or 9, maybe a dozen next week,
decrying the leaden darkness when
the air outside is alive. Hope is the
title of humanity’s verse. Love never
needs a dress rehearsal.

Not all epiphanies happen in a moment,
most are slow-motion.
They hit your soul first, the ocean’s breath,
before they mist the air, your mental unrest,
that drives you to voice
everything you have always known.
And then you ask the questions

About why
you let the narrow slats
limit your attention to a universe full
of butterflies visiting poppies.
The rest stops come easier now.