“Enlightenment Poem” - Lenore Kandel

2010 March 21

we have all been brothers, hermaphroditic as oysters

bestowing our pearls carelessly

no one yet had invented ownership

nor guilt   nor time
we watched the seasons pass, we were as crystalline as snow

and melted gently into newer forms

as stars spun round our heads

we had not yet learned betrayal
our selves were pearls

irritants transmuted into luster

and offered    carelessly

our pearls became more precious and our sexes static

mutability grew a shell, we devised different languages

new words for new concepts, we intvented alarm clocks

fences      loyalty

still. . . even now. . . making a feint at communion

infinite perceptions

I remember

we have all been brothers

and offer    carelessly


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