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by W. Mahlon Purdin

We can turn from super sophisticated
To cowering coward in the blink of a tsunami
Or a earthquake or a gunshot.
We can change from confident to scardy cat
At the notice of a door left open or the
Sight of someone we don't know.
We can turn from arrogant to idiot
With just an unadjusted question
That we'd not thought of.
We all live on tetonic plates that
Can shift at any time. We all live
In the path of potential tidal waves
That can wash us away.
We balance on a web of shifting threads
That vibrate with thoughts and things
Over which we have no control.

Or

We live in a matrix of choices made
Decisions taken and actions evoked
That we did and can't undo.
Are we victims or victors?
Are we helpless, hapless and trapped
In a world not of our doing?
Are we architects, time travelers
With options unbounded, everything new?
Answering one question answers all.
Our lives attest our point of view.
Are we free, or lost in thrall?

03/26/2011

Posted on 04/30/2013
Copyright © 2026 W. Mahlon Purdin

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Steve Michaels on 04/30/13 at 01:19 PM

I'm going with "time traveler" A thoughtful write!

Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 05/01/13 at 10:22 PM

I think it's getting harder to be complacent in our shrinking world, hard as some try. "We all live on tetonic plates that Can shift at any time." Indeed!

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