Robert Ronnow
The Imaginary i
Whatever Forever
I think I’ve run my course like whatshisname—
Chidiock Tichborne. Pretty impressive
he wrote a metered, rhymed, coherent verse
a few hours before his execution,
controlled his fear to focus on prosody,
perfection. We all gotta go sometime
so we shrug it off or make a ritual.
Ritual is remedy. Matter matters.
Which? Whatever. Life is for the living.
We’re gonna hafta suffer tragedy,
nuclear weapons and sullen seasons.
Fewer oldtimers, pollinators, big game
yet the young are cheerful as ever.
I like that. Whatever forever.
Copyright 2024 by Robert Ronnow.