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Apr. 18th, 2024|11:29 pm |
To My Duties
While I’ve been doing my job
stone by stone, quill by quill,
winter has passed, leaving
empty places
and dead rooms.
I work on all the same.
I really should replace
all those things I’ve forgotten,
fill the darkness with bread,
inspire hope again.
The dust of the season,
its harsh rain, are all I deserve:
for myself I claim nothing more than all space
and the right to work there, bearing witness to spring.
I must have something for everybody
day by day and week by week, gifts of the blue variety
or cool blossoms from the woods.
First thing in the morning, I’m going strong
while others have sunk
into sloth or lovemaking.
I’m sweeping out my bell tower,
polishing my tools and my heart.
I have enough dew to go around.
/Pablo Neruda from: ODES TO OPPOSITES |
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