warning signs
for Stephen Huneck
Dog Mountain gave up
her saint, her soul today
the headline read
Artist Huneck takes own
life
oh, no
I cried to no one in the
kitchen
as the paper unfolded
feeling pain again from the
deaths of each
dog I ever loved
knowing some instant sorrow
sensing some loss
that would not be
explained
had some warning gone out
a signal too weak
to reach us where we all live
here
on earth
no tower
no satellite
no transmission of urgency
emergency
warnings don’t always assault
us
like a 4 X 8 fluorescent
danger sign screaming
bridge out, take another
route
some warnings are like a
turning away
a silent, secretive tear
maybe sent out as a prayer
a dim beacon for rescue
we don’t all build a 32 square
foot notice
of our pain
sometimes, we only look away
at some view
we really don’t see
sometimes there is no reading
of this language
few can hear
or even imagine
yet who has not headed into a
time
and space appearing from a
distance
in control
but instead careening toward
some lonely hell
but
please
don’t blame
yourself
for missing the signs
sometimes
as we try to make our own way
other concerns won’t allow for
inconvenience
empathy
insight
and sometimes
one voice seems
too small to matter
when the same mind’s made up
who could have heard the
whisper
the shout
or the even scream
so long past warning
but like a light that travels
across the universe
or an impulse across a synapse
his warning
still may come in time
to save someone else
Barry DeCarli
January 15-17, 2010
Ferrisburgh, VT
Copyright 2010 Barry DeCarli
