nothing concluded 128

how many times
has it begun
in a different year
serial poet same point
nothing concluded

again measuring space
by five or six
at the most if the phone
continues to ring
will someone answer

he sits on the porch
third porch he's known
one with years of comfort
built into the knotty pine walls
so far so good so long

as long as he gets up
each morning
even working for someone else
isn't that bad some days
worse than others

won't understand
nothing concluded
a continuum where no thing
is excluded and everything
imaginable mentioned

until exhaled
mind wise and by the pen
in hand ready
to retire for the day at least
not as late

as it once was
when always alone
putting down this
thought not long ago
before the end

was begun and operation
dropped everything was
one the mind
though true destination
was unknown

the thought remained
until fully diminished
nothing concluded
not late on time or early
five lines or six I forget

can't kick the habit
another load
to drag behind me as I go
head high
nothing concluded...