I was late, in all my steps
To build a shelter
Before the rain,
To make a bed
Before that night,
To open the heart
Before its break.
I was late,in all my steps
To pen down the pains
Before they carved me,
To laugh out aloud
Before smile faded from me,
To stroke them a little
Before death embraced them all.
I was late, in all my steps
To shake away the inertia
Before love moved away
From the sky of my life,
Before soil rushed away
From beneath my feet,
Before I stood dumb
Facing the destiny.
The repeated refrain , ” I was late in all my steps “, suffuses the poem’s narrative with an unsettling urgency. The reader is also rewarded with well crafted haunting intimations of what philosophers refer to as existential dread.
Thank you, Louis.