Some say we breathe the same air as the great Alexander,
that we can visit the holy places Jesus once knew,

perhaps follow in His footsteps through Galilee,
or imagine the once famed glory of Macedon,

where Phillip would teach his young son to fight.
But we can never quite see, let alone touch these lost

worlds in our minds, they are always one step beyond
our senses, like those people and animals

who frequent our own lives, sharing joys and pains,
and then are gone, without ever being a part of us.

We are all the lost and lonely children
with only faith to fight the famine of our lives.

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019

I get out and walk every day,
try to feel alive and worthwhile,
try to make every step count,
try to chip little bits off this monolith
blocking the pure steam of light in to my mind.
You may say I’m shy, that I’m retiring,
as if the seven ages of man ever counted
for anything,
when you or I could drop dead at any time.
But I really can’t care
even though you are right – I am not alone,
the first, or the last.
I am not the first to feel slighted, rejected,
belittled,
but only I know what it’s like
to be me
and I will remember, counting
the days until the last piece of this monolith
is washed down the drain and life begins anew.

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019