Measure of the Light-Year

He is listening to the music he loves,
a Romanian waltz that beats out

Its rhythm 1 and 2 and 3 and…
he knows the song by ear, by heart.

He dreams in twilight sleep, hearing
a faint hum, a plea, a signal from America;

A crescendo of sound pushing down.
and the waltz continues 1 and 2 and 3 and…

He knows he must wait for a heart
that beats in rhythm; a song, a voice

That sings in a stranger's chest. And
he knows the measure of the light-year,

How time equals distance
and how distance is a kind of salvation.

And the waltz continues
1 and 2 and 3 …


© 1998 Jim Cain

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