Thoughts out of time

Have I been so long with you,
And yet you do not know me?

If not now, when?
If not here, where?

Have you been so long with me,
And yet I have not known you?

Did you hear me knocking?
Have you heard me calling?
If not I, then what was it you heard?

Was it the wind that knocked on my door,
Or gently rocked my heart?
Was it the call of a lonesome bird I heard,
Or the whisper of a soundless voice?

If it is you yourself, then tell me to come.
If it is not you but another, please do not bother,
Do not disturb the dust, or brush off the rust.

If you are not here, then where?
If you are not here now, then when?

Dawn is breaking, night is fading.
What else is breaking, what is fading?

When no one spoke, it just happened.
When nothing happened, it was.

You are as you are,
And still the eye of my I.


—Wm. P. McKane
    26 May 2019