The Speed of Dark

we may never accelerate ourselves
to the speed of light,
but the speed of dark
moves surely within us,
all that darkness of soul
which goes with knowing
we will die---
that love will die with us,
if not before,
after one of our many marriages,
perhaps, implodes
or a beloved leaves---
haunts our days,
inhabits our dreams.

Optimism is the miracle
in the face of this sure knowledge
and laughter,
rising out of us
like multi-colored balloons,
soaring above our
soon-to-be corpse,
the gift we didn't expect,
the surprise we didn't know we wanted.
like going to a garage sale
and finding a treasure
we hadn't imagined,
like the leap of the heart
and the fire in the groin
in the presence of someone
we hadn't expected to feel that way for,
like the sudden fork in the road
we hadn't known would appear
as we traveled our path
and the joy of following it
blindly to its end
and even beyond.
and so we dress up,
we brush our teeth
and move into
the light of day.


- Barbara Wolf (2006)