Not Always October

NOT ALWAYS OCTOBER 

By:  R.F. Husnik

Try to align

with times beforehand

It won’t be easy

because they’re times

within someone else’s mind

Some time ago

October fell upon him

suddenly and surprisingly

But he drew his sword then

and cut off its servant’s ear

And, as in Gethsemane,

though it probably wasn’t

October then,

the Master reaffixed

that appendage

to its peasant’s head

But then I, who

stood some yards away

asked “Why, though

more than mere flesh fissures

have been opened

on his body

has no blood appeared?”

And He from the timeless light

replied, “Don’t always look for

blood and violence so quickly.

Instead, think about how you

can assure

you’ll spend eternity with me

rather than with Lucifer.”

And I asked

“Would it have mattered much

if in this poem’s third verse

I had written instead

“Some time ago

October fell upon ‘her’

surprisingly? – a gender change.

And He answered,

“Male and female created

He them, but someday all

of ‘them’ will stand alone

before eternity’s judges.”

And I said

“I remember how once,

at fifteen, I stood alone,

bewildered, rebellious, uncompromising,

and steel-fingered, just like

the man with sword in hand

on this cold dark night.”

“And I guess I’ve learned

what was meant when someone

said ‘Those who wield a sword

will perish with that sword.’”

“Master, as we stand here today

outside the garden,

tell me You’ll ‘buoy’ me up.

Promise me You’ll keep me

floating, touching, knowing, and

perceiving for as long as temporal life

is still mine on planet Earth.”

“But then when I ‘cross over,’

as all someday certainly shall,

capture me not necessarily as

the mind-excursionist who,

within his or her mind,

traversed the universe’s expanse,

but rather as a former mortal who,

despite so many earthly options

and differences

maintained a belief in Your divinity.”