White Cologne
for Laura Goebelsmann

cold day in Cologne, outside my window
sunny but chilly

man in black, his hands in his pockets
going where he's going

his shadow is a minute hand
he, an hour hand

my pen in another hand, a second hand
seascape or snow scene, harbor without ships

across the water, construction site, cranes in the air
the engineers, the builders, off the building, off today

what time of day, what day of the week

this second extracted
like a deck of cards with this one missing

all of creation, however much it weighs
passed on in tact

from split second to split second
without splitting like an atom


© Obediah Michael Smith, 2009
2:56 p.m. 20.12.09