Passenger in a Womb…by Robert M. Katzman
by Robert M. Katzman © January 27, 2021
And then Reconsidered with Nancy Alexander August 25, 2021
Ideas…Clarity
When occurring in
My consciousness
Traveling beyond
The speed of light
Reflections…conclusions
Sheltered under greying hair
*
But I am only the writer
A lingering disintegrating
Chicago Wordsmith
Over Seventy
*
And then
As I realized
I am much closer
To my
Conclusion
Than my
First gasp of air
*
Causing me to
Reconsider
How I have
Traveled
Throughout my life
*
We start out so secure
Passengers in a womb
Blindly,
Slowly, silently
Moving thru Time
Our temporary
All enveloping pilot
Momentarily
Choosing our path
*
The invisible track we are assigned
After the explosion of Light
After the explosion of Sound
The Universe bombarding the infant
With seemingly millions of crossroads
We brim with an infinity of:
Perhaps?
*
My Father Israel
Once told me
In his American Yiddish:
“As you grease your way
So goes the ride”
But then the Galaxy of
Open palms
The Merry-go-Round
Of so soothing words
All paths seem…so golden
*
But Time coldly
Refines choices
Time, indifferent
Slicing off options
The taller you grow
The wider you view
Your horizons
Until the adult recognizes
At last
The World is a Wilderness
*
The track
Becomes slicker
The wind racing, bracing
Our skin burnished by
Kindness, wildness, brutality
Open hands and hardened fists
We are passengers
Transformed
*
Climbing higher
On the track
Our railroad
Insecurely ascending
A single car, really
On quivering rails
Our grasp of understanding
Has swelled
Like the incoming tide
*
Our grasp of our ride
Grows ever more frail
Still we speed on
Faster & Faster & Faster
Time
Beginning to collapse
Awareness not a shield
Yesterday
Suddenly
A Century ago
The wheels, the wheels
Beginning to squeal
*
Our track seems
Neglected
Our vision
Less panoramic
The sounds of the
Clickity-clack
More remote
The Rails
Ever narrowing
In the Distance
Yet
Infinity
Grows nearer
*
When our Train
Runs out of Track
When our rusted cars
Plummet over the Peak
Will the Illusion become clear?
*
Will we rise?
Or will we fall?
Last Sounds
Last Sights
Did we
Ever know
There
Never was
Any Destination?
**************
Publishing News!
Bob Katzman’s two new true Chicago books are now for sale, from him!
Vol. One: A Savage Heart and Vol. Two: Fighting Words
Gritty, violent, friendship, classic American entrepreneurship love, death, heartbreak and the real dirt about surviving in a completely corrupt major city under the Chicago Machine. More history and about one man’s life than a person may imagine.
Please visit my new website: http://www.dontgoquietlypress.com
If a person doesn’t want to use PayPaI, I also have a PO Box & I ship anywhere in America.
Send me a money order with your return and contact info.
I will get your books to you within ten days.
Here’s complete information on how to buy my books:
Vol 1: A Savage Heart and Vol. 2: Fighting Words
My books weigh almost 2 pounds each, with about 525 pages each and there are a total together of 79 stories and story/poems.
Robert M. Katzman
Don’t Go Quietly Press
PO Box 44287
Racine, Wis. 53404-9998 (262)752-3333, 8AM–7PM
Books cost $29.95 each, plus shipping
For: (1)$3.95; (2)$5.95; (3)$7.95; (4)$8.95 (5)$9.95;(6) $10.95
(7) $11.95; (8) $12.95; (9)$13.95 (10)$15.95 (15)$19.95
I am also for hire if anyone wants me to read my work and answer questions in the Chicago/Milwaukee area. Schools should call me for quantity discounts for 30 or more books. Also: businesses, bookstores, private organizations or churches and so on.