IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY

By R. F. Husnik

Here I am
thinking about Sir Walter Raleigh
and wishing his days and ways
were mine.

But I’m not an aristocrat
yet just for now
let me pretend I am.

And so, though I’m living now
in the twenty first century
in my mind
I’m existing long ago
in an era of lords, chivalry,
and meaningful monarchies.

But, the mind,
like the past,
I suppose
is only a temporary abode,
a stopping off place perhaps
for students still seeking
their rightful roles
along life’s highways
and within various
real societies.

And knowing that,
I realize
that in very real time
I’m only here
looking at you
sitting alone
across the room
smoking one of Raleigh’s cigarettes.

And it occurs to me
that lucky indeed
would be other titled lords
from long ago
such as Earls of Kent
and Dukes of Marlborough
if they could see you now
as I can today.

And I wonder
what they would think
of you
as you appear now
in the present.

Oh, I can’t imagine
what their aristocratic opinions
of you would be.

But to me
you’re cool
and you seem to know
the story
of the mud puddle
and queen.

Yet, your gestures
leave me certain
you have no help
to offer
a questioning mind.

No, you won’t help me
justify
that while those lords
of long ago
have such noble legacies,
all I have
as I’m sitting here today,
is an easy-drawing filter.

And on days such as this
one wonders,
did Raleigh ever wear
that coat again?

NOTE: I’ve received requests to continue the internet posts on a regular basis. Therefore, I shall attempt at least one post each month (probably mostly poetry).