The Dash In The Years Poem by RIC BASTASA

dramatic spans
years and years of waiting
to get exactly what you want
in what you do

you reflect the need to wait for the return
of a particular quality of light,
time of day,
or time of year,
in order to proceed

selecting the mood
waiting for the right
time to unfold

about your struggles
with uncooperative weather
or other alterations in your chosen motifs,
in your effort to record faithfully
what you see and feel

all very impressive
such excessive literalness
your only aim,
devoid of interest

early surrealizing images
to recent staccato cityscape
and suave sculptures
and refined poetry


you were never literal
because at the end
you put the last line

exactly,
truth is never exact as they always
want to see and
write about it