Katherine San Filippo

Salem College, North Carolina, USA

Wandering Towards

How carefully we walk this street,

tripping over cobblestones

making our way towards

buildings shining gold in the night

-our home awaits.

How often we make this journey,

trudging through the cold;

peeking through the sleet,

dim streetlights light our way

-our bones ache.

How do we look I wonder?

to those looking from above

(through fogged over windows)

our two bundled figures

-our unknown fate.

How sweet our relief is,

reaching home

striking matches to light our way,

frozen fingers untying scarves

-your joyous face.

Glimpses of My Mind

I wander along the tracks of

great ideas rusted over,

and sit and wait for the tangents

that never seem to come home.

I walk along the shallow bank

of an ephemeral thought

and without a care in the world

make a bridge out of pennies.

I sail the Mare Imbrium

and feel drops of clarity

that dry as another bright star

distracts me from the journey.

I travel the miles between

my brain and my tripping tongue

and wonder who could understand

my creaking trains and deep space.

Thoughts on Mortality

How do we move on

after death has died

(after all those we love are gone)?

We greet each dawn

like the world is on our side

-but how do we move on

(without being withdrawn,

without starting to backslide)

after all those we love are gone?

Are we more than a pawn?

More than some god’s joyride?

How do we move on

from these fears of the beyond?

Inevitably, we will sit dry eyed

after all those we love are gone,

and we will finally be alone.

There’s no guide

for how we move on.

After all, those we love are gone.