Lost Tense

The past tense of ash
was oak; of rust,
iron. The future tense
of oak and iron
was war; future perfect,
more or less, war's end,
the present tense of which
was ashes on the tongue,
rust stains in the earth
like blood, the past tense
of which had always been
full of promise.

Copyright © 2007 Stephen Malin All rights reserved
from Green Mountains Review
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission