"We Do Not Change Except to Disappear"

"we do not change except to disappear"
i quote octavio paz who is no longer here
i was searching for a cats paw
a ¾ inch wrench
a hammer and nail

"in a world of facts
death is merely one more fact"
i was counting the other jobs
cordwood to split
a roof to repair
the weeding to manage

"now every separation causes a wound"
time was under construction
i worked with my solitude
between intimacy and withdrawal
i stole
an hour to surrender my thoughts
in a love poem

"man is the only being who knows he is alone
and the only one who seeks out another"
i have whittled that sentence down
to a vibrating string
and out of this nothing
there is still another

Harold Janzen

If you've any comments on this poem, Harold Janzen would be pleased to hear from you.