SOMETHING HAPPENED

After a while                                              
I could no longer hear the music

The stars disappeared 
from the sky

Around me only the voices
of Babel

while the lights in so many eyes
dimmed or died

I wanted to succumb
to the undertow

but the moon slipped out               
from behind a cloud

and the waves kept pounding 
pounding the shore 

or was that the sound of my heart
which just wouldn’t give up


________________________________________________


Phyllis Wax lives near Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, WI. She grew up in the Washington, DC area, which might be why social justice issues push their way into much of her work. Also inspired by nature and human nature, as well as by music of all sorts, her poetry has appeared in many publications, including Writers Resist, Jerry Jazz Musician, Rise Up Review, Spillway, Peacock Journal, Wordpeace, New Verse News, Your Daily Poem, Mobius.