by Marci Klayder Gibbens

Floating with clouds
stretching above the horizon for an eternity
breath arrested waiting for the bassist to pluck his first note
a gentleman who undoubtedly carries us on his slender shoulders
though some days his vitality evaporates in the heat
he sustains his pleasant smile
foregoing glimpses of
the unknown

Tears well up in his eyes
as he surveys the crowded room considering
these souls whose blood is rich with his and his father’s
generations fighting in battles uncovering the legacies stretching
from the heart of Europe to the heart of America
cleansing their hands of dirt and toil
in the darkest nights of
the unknown

Tied hands waiting
to unbind the rope of questions
seeking answers where none exist but forging ahead
a bittersweet aroma of innocence wafting through thick air
the sweetness of sugar the bitterness of vanilla
combined with eggs and heavy cream
mixed and frozen in
the unknown

Strongholds of anxious fear
dominate this cruel waiting game
when we see the power that was never ours
slow as rusty cogs in the unyielding wheel of time
swelling in this suspension until we surrender
the suffering to the only One
who carries you through
the unknown

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Marci Klayder Gibbens is a high school English teacher who writes poetry about chronic pain, motherhood, and faith. Her poem “Symbiosis” was published in the December 2022 issue of American Diversity Report and her poem “Exigency” was published in Ariel Chart International Literary Journal in March 2023. Writing poetry is a cathartic outlet for her, and she hopes to give voice to other sufferers of chronic pain. She lives in Olathe, Kansas with her husband and three daughters.