This poem is one of my favorites. There is so much unknown and I often wonder about these same thoughts nearly 40 years after this was written!
A poem by Faith L. Sanders July 16th, 1983
“I”
A poem about the concept of “I”
Is audacious of me to even try;
for if “I” eternal do only dwell
temporarily in this shell,
Where have “I” been; where shall “I” be
before & after the time I’m “me?”
A drop in the wave?
A part of the whole?
An innocent gleam in the oversoul?
Which Philosopher do I trust
in planning whether I boom or bust?
Who says I couldn’t be a cat
or sail through nights as a winged bat
or grow from roots a stem & flower?
Who sets limits to my power?
What I’d really like to know
{If I’m eternal in this show}
Why did I bestow on me
Such a lousy memory.
Why no recollection merry
of my lives as elf & fairy?
Why no glimmer from the past
of prowling slow or flying fast~
of hoping- hating- hurting or
of feeling “I’ve done this before?”
Perhaps each time the slate wipes clean
to give each “I” a brand-new scene
intriguing me to find the clue
of why I’m here & what to do.
To write this poem while I’m still me
is an exercise in futility~
For when I die & then do know,
The curtain’s down~ end of show.
acurbsideprophet 