Alan Altany

Far East of Eden
 
Distracting myself by myself
during talks, sometimes
stranded in thick space,
forgetting what I just said
like an empty parenthesis
lost in a 4 dimensional
labyrinth for an eternal
moment, seeking help
from the waiting audience
until the idea flashes neon
bright in my deserted mind
& the talk resumes again.
Was that a convoluted prank
of old age, a gap in neurons,
a frosty hint of creeping
dementia on a November
morning far east of Eden? 
Is my brain losing its mind?
Should I chronicle drowning
in the wild desert of God?

Alan Altany has BA & MA degrees in Catholic theology, and a Ph. D. in religious studies (University of Pittsburgh). After an academic career, he is a semi-retired, septuagenarian professor of Comparative Religions at a small college in Florida, USA. In the past he has also been the founder & editor of a small magazine of poetry (The Beggar’s Bowl), a high school teacher, factory and lawn maintenance worker, hotel clerk, novelist, truck driver, etc. He has self-published two books of poetry: A Beautiful Absurdity (2022) and The Greatest Longing (2023). He writes with the steadfast support of his golden retriever, Zeke. 
Website:  https://www.alanaltany.com/.