Exposure

(Found here)

Every living thing

as a mass or a

morsel, or one who moves with

the speed of light, alike —

each, in His miracle of

particularity,

the Lord knows.

What is left, as though unknown

by the Knower’s and

the rebel’s mutual

consent, the psalmist calls

chaff in the wind.

Even a pear on a

leafy July bough,

or a begrimed

pear on a downtown fruit stand,

or a pale piece of pear in a

hospital dish proffered

a toothless mouth,

blank now toward

sustenance, and breath:

even such pears also are

known.

But unlike other

living things

being slow, slow to learn

in this interlude,

life, just being under

the sun, we

vacillate between awe, and

apprehension lest we be known.

The Knower, knowing, waits

our turn.

~Margaret Avison