The ones who remember
what others remember
are lens grinders --
an Army nurse's Pearl Harbor,
future husband's dismissive recounting
of flight training in Boseman,
lightning strike victim,
her FDR at Hot Springs
House cats Lorelei and Cooter
civilized to their species' leading edge
yet separated by a generation
connect only softly
by electrochemical umbilicals
held in brain casings of another species,
their lineage not linear
instruments no less curious
than a cat's tongue
strong enough for a lifetime of thirst
put to use as opinion-makers,
storytellers, rhetoricians, gossip-hoarders
chefs who thrust their tongues
at the receded & intangible
Imperfect device
it recalls the odd & outrageous
more than the lunchbox
taken to work for thirty-five years
the crash more than the arc
content with its disorder
& meandering
the warped crysallis of childhood
advising the pilot
to kill the parents of granddaughters
his son would later covet Stateside
past fear and courage merge
heaped pieces of a board game
whose rules have faded
The ones who remember
above B25 engine roar in Borneo '44
to remember what others remember
until old, stooped by the weight
must drop the connection
with a memorable crash
beset by spacious runway ahead
17 November 2011