if this is all there is it better be enough

by Robert Roley

there’s the war it seems
            it’s endless    dreams
crouching before the fire
                        withered    gray

in the crawlspace
                        of indigeny
            rustic bells
dance
            to neon flicker
                              shadow play

if it’s all the same to you . . .
but it never is

i’ve broken something
            not a bone
            or my favorite mug
it shows in the eyes
            i think    not mine
                           but yours
and the rain
            it’s different now
not so wet
            as i recall it

time was
            i could picture the altar walrus
but what i write today
            i can’t judge it anymore
there’s something
            that needs to be said
but it doesn’t
            speak my tongue