Tonight's Poet Corner: Maybe Not

Maybe Not
by Belinda Roddie

maybe
we are as fragile as the stardust
found in fireworks, the fuse merely
there to focus our emotions around
a tight spiral before they all
erupt into temporary flames. maybe

forever is just a word found in books
and letters riddled with sentimental
values, like bullet holes missing their
target but still leaving marks that take
a fairly long time to heal. maybe

we're just strangers who happen to know
each other's secrets without the basic
human connection needed to boil
a kettle with just our body heat, our
sweaty noses, our cheeks tinged

with the colors of something extraordinary
that you can't just find in a box of crayons.
maybe it's just simpler than we thought.
we are born from wheat stalks and turned
to loaves of bread nestled side by side

in the grocery aisle. we share a likeness
and a common desire for noise. maybe
we ought to be quiet for a while. maybe
we ought to try to be more acquainted.
maybe we are made to be more than
stars.