Austere Lonely Offices Poem by Broken Shell

Inch by inch it's a cinch to eat an elephant one bite at a time,
the journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step
mount everest climbed. The moon, manned.

Some steps have bannisters like Roger's fourth minute,
but you don't have to run the race if you don't want to win it.

I saw the work of genius one night as light shone from a star,
brilliant indeed the pupil, optic nerve and retina
Genius is never far.

The way of a man with a maiden,
a serpent on a rock
a fish in waters,
the first grandfather's clock.

But who's counting the 'I love yous'
never vocalized
but by the music of sacrifice
played back from time on the radio of memories.

Memories of the ones who shaped us between the pages
of then and now tell us stories we may never fully understand.