I have seen
a squirrel run up a tree
backwards.
I have seen
the pale blue smoke of dirtbikes hanging in the morning mist.
I have seen
mailmen without a smile.
I have seen
ants heft a crumb, heaving in unison.
I have seen
a dead friend in a casket.
I have seen
puppies born into the world.
I am a storybook.
I have seen
a child sleeping in the crook of its mother’s arm.
I have seen
the Grand Canyon at high noon.
I have seen
people argue in the shoe department.
I have seen
the bushy body of a buffalo.
I have seen
100,000 souls swaying in unison.
I have seen
tears on my mother’s cheeks.
I am a photo album.
I have seen
the fearful eyes of a hit’n’run animal
I have seen
a woman transformed by
the miraculous cure of confession.
I have seen
Springsteen in concert.
I have seen
a checkbook in the red
(more times than I care).
I have seen
my byline on a newspaper front page.
I have seen
the post-hurricane remains of a city.
I am a witness.
I have seen
spaghetti stains on a white shirt.
I have seen
theatre-in-the-round.
I have seen
the watery sun from the ocean floor.
I have seen
my reflection in a painting.
I have seen
cars collide at 55.
I have seen
the Earth from the heavens.
I am today.
But one day I will be gone.
Who then will inherit my treasure?
-kp