Undisturbed, it gathers dust
until disturbed by accidental agency
sometimes disturbed by gentle strokes
so that it might appear, at least,
to be undisturbed by gathering dust,
or cleansed by drip or drop or flow or flood
or breeze or blow till left again undisturbed
only to gather dust again
some other dust, now with
similar consequence, similar enough
not to matter to the dust or what it strives to hide
The ocean floor comes to mind
a chessboard along the wall
shelves and the tops of books
ancient cities
memories
conscience
and minds too long at rest, undisturbed by thought,
and souls too long unmoved by empathy, or even sympathy,
until to dust they return…
having remained too long undisturbed
Ethicist and online education entrepreneur, Russell Willis, has been featured in THE POET Magazine Profile Series and his poetry has been published in over twenty-five online and print journals and fourteen anthologies. Russell grew up in and around Texas, was vocationally scattered throughout the Southwest and Great Plains, and is now settled in Vermont with his wife, Dawn.
Photo by Tim Foster on Unsplash
