gifts and curses

i was there when the bomb dropped, and the light that came from another world lit up our faces, blinding us as we tried to do a thousand things at once. i was there when the wall fell, i was there when the ship sank and the band played on. i was there when the soldier kissed that woman in the street, i was there when the bell tolled and we could hear the wheelbarrow rolling and the sound of trudging feet. i was there at every tragedy and every comedy.

i was there thinking faster than i could write, even though i was never really there at all.