Before and After

Before and after, words did not matter,

before you and I were born. There was

no math, when two plus two had no

answer, no geography either needed to

map, no history, year after year to guide

the way. In the beginning before, and in

the after, no matter. Either way, no Mozart,

no Picasso, no Edison, Ford or Chevrolet, no

tomorrow or yesterday, no smart phones or

xylophones, no laughter, no tears or moans

and groans. This is why we do not recall all

the possibilities, the hum of bees, the song

birds sing. That was all before leaves and

needles processed the trees, after the seas

receded, after mountains collapsed and were

buried summarily under nothing beneath.

No books to read before. No stories to be

told after, no one to look, listen and learn.

In the here and now, one might pause to

wonder where in hell to begin? In the here-

after, I suppose, only heaven knows. Go figure.

Before and after. In the blank space below,
add all the things for you which do and do
not matter.

Chris Hanch 8-21-19