Left, Right, Left Poem by Angel Payne

It is a weight we learn to carry
Not at an age
But in a moment, in an instant…
We bend our knees…
Poise our shoulders
Swallow our fear and
The emptiness of what is
Left
Right
Left….
Handed rummage seekers…
A melodic movement
Timed to a sunrise… and set…
A rhythm…. a routine….
A self-diagnosed biological clock always
Covered in kerosene….
And we walk…
Left
Right
Left…
Her dry mouth lip synching lullabies
To my fallen memory
A plea for perfection
An unconditional condition
I know it, leaving me
Lined with silver-lined doubt and regret
And I run with what is….
Left
Right
Left
Overs from one city to the next….
Latitudes only elongated existence
Searching and seeking to accept
Searching and seeking for rest…
Bending our knees…
Poising our shoulders
And breathing in the night
Left……
Right?