Brian’sPoems

Reassurances

Throughout this day,
on my frequent visits
to and from the kitchen,
the dogs will look to me
for my calm reassurance,
and I will give it to them easily
along with a meaty treat.

Maybe I could also offer
a bit of reassurance to myself.
I used to ask it from adults
when I was just a kid.
And it would be given to me
in fluctuating strengths
and myriad varieties.
Nevertheless,
there always seemed to be
plenty of it.

Most of us now feel
the ground moving beneath.
Change is in the air,
and those absolute reassurances
on which we’ve built each new century
are crumbling beneath their own weight,
along with Truth’s unwillingness
to forever lend itself
in support of a lie.

My own reassurances
are flimsy at best,
but true enough
to be accepted by my dogs.
The reassurances I seek
reside in murkier waters,
and require the faith of an alchemist
to bring them into being.