Monkey Lamp Light

It was only because of the late hour,
pencil, paper, wine,
and dim monkey lamp light
that we figured
and rechecked the figuring
and concluded:
If you tilt your head sideways
while squinting and smiling
as hard as you can
you will see
all that is beautiful
for that moment.
And as a bonus feature
of sorts,
hovering between the moments,
a little of what was
and a little of what will be
and a lot of where we came from
and definite proof
of where we will be
one hundred years
from tonight.


(written March 2010)