The departure

    One felt most at ease
When drawn from a distance: all the deaf could hear was
Silence.
    From a paler view
Mounted Tuesday on his mighty throne: he sent the water
In goldfish jars (the cups were used for something else).
The vehicles drove on marblelanes; the people marched
In disarray. The sky lit peepholes on a screen;
The birds hemmed music by the seam—
    Oh, knew them all!
Knew them all! He thought of how he knew them all:
A mosaic of faces! a mix of dreams—and a macadam of
Other things...
    Until, at last—half-past four;
Disquieted was the stony floor. The show stopped
As time grew old; the clock got up and turned to leave.
An empty chair, an empty king—there is Tuesday
By the door.
    He has resigned after all.

Dale Chou
2005-10-25