Temporary Time Spent In The Valley Poem by Joshua Bantum

In proper time all things dissolve.

Your tan paid for by Hawaii
When you came back
I saw it slowly become dismal in strength
And you became fair again

The money I made bartending Mardi Gras
Left quicker than your tan
I left quicker than I arrived when I met you

Often I’m asked why I move the way I do
Or what is inspiring to me
When finally at my destination
I arrive.

It is the fact that all things diminish
Over time,
and when presented by unexpected conditions of a new jungle
it consumes the trifling dramas you arrived with,
this is temporary enlightenment,
temporary freedom.

It is a breath of ancient origin
A breeze from histories trauma, all ancestors felt this
Taken by their will to survive
It’s all that filled their thoughts.

And for only a couple months do I get to feel the most essential
Characteristic vital to the human experience,
To live for live sake,
To struggle for the essentials, and to help remind me
Of what is not essential.

Cascaded by the dark hue of death
In that gradient is life opaque drawn out by its contrast
And you can touch its flesh for moments
And it is subtle
Quiet
Pulses lightly like a storm preparing
There
Deep in the belly of the valley surrounded by hills,
You can listen through eternities ears
While it slowly diminishes

It slowly diminishes when you get comfortable and distracted again.

There is no avoiding this,
No tangible way
To run
Only by absolute denial
Or full fledged embracement
Can you experience a life worth reporting.