all became white;
(even when I blinked)
the whiteness filled the universe.
and then it was dark.
like a smile that flashed
— and then gone —
there was the universe
and then aloneness.
As this ebbed and flowed,
I held on.
I don’t know what it was.
But it’s inscribed in my bones.
touch my calluses
taste my tears
peer into my iris
and you will see —
all of it is there.
11.14.2023
Ralph with Coffee 