WHAT IS ASKING

The telephones ringing in second story apartments the hushing
Sounds the wind makes in the trees sometimes
Are both a kind of asking
And my walking to the store
To buy beer bananas hamburger meat and milk
Is a kind of asking too
A desire to be out in the world for one thing
Can I please see the moon tonight as it rises over the empty
Buildings of the government
Night after night into a loneliness
Into a forgiveness that reaches through our bodies
Even though we don't know anything more than the iron
Railings that connect the wet poplars
Or all those people listening to the same radio station
In their cars as they drive to work as they drive
Home from work or the man I saw smoking cocaine
In the park one sunny afternoon in September
What are they asking for
Only this moment give me this moment like the last kids
Playing soccer across the fields as dusk arrives
And keeps on coming
The woman staring through her potted flowers at her street
Those browsing the covers of books in a bookstore
Touching the shiny volumes turning the pages
Considering
Asking themselves or asking
The wallets breathing in their jackets is this worth it
Is this worth it and do I have to go now
And am I coming back
Handing the credit card to the check-out girl
Punk and teenage she is looking into your eyes
Tag showing out the collar of her t-shirt
And what song is this playing in this store
And do I like it
What mood is it selling
Can I use this feeling in my life right now or should I go home
And watch a television show about a hospital
That doesn't smell like anything
Television show about a perfectly
Entertaining law firm and then there is the anonymous
Laughter from the open door of a restaurant then the grinding
Noise of the braking subway train rising from the escalator
Someone staring at their hands at the bus stop
Someone smiling into their cellular telephone
And always someone asking

— stephen gibson