brown sailboat in beach under white sky

Just as new land by great explorers...

A stranger's thoughts

POETRY

Coren McGirr

7/17/20241 min read

I asked a man who he was,

And I got his name.

I asked what he does,

He said whatever pays.

I inquired, ‘What do you love?’,

So he shared his heart.

Broken and mended,

A woven piece of art.

He pulled a notebook,

From his pocket.

He said, ‘I write my thoughts,

And then I lock it.’,

He paused, then opened,

Page fifteen,

And I saw a thought,

I had never seen.

Written there,

In wet, fresh ink,

Not a day old,

Or so I think,

Some words that moved me,

Deep inside,

Resided right there,

Black on white.

Touched to the soul?’,

The stranger asked.

To the soul,’ I said.

To the soul and past.

The space between,

His voice and mine,

Grew quiet, I felt,

Anticipation rise.

I hadn’t thought of it,

That way.

I must confess,

I hear me say.

Nor I’,

The stranger thinks out loud,

Accompanied by,

A ripping sound.

The page no longer,

In his book,

But held by the man,

In the hand I shook.

We parted ways,

I pulled my collar high,

The rain set in,

And flashing light.

And I clenched that paper,

As I walked,

With the stranger’s thoughts,

For me, unlocked.

I read it time,

And time again,

Under my breath,

Like a secret:

'Just as new land by great explorers,

Nothing is invented, only discovered.

For the creator’s creation is so profound,

The idea exists and must merely be found.'

brown sailboat in beach under white sky