Lost

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Someone always is.

It doesn’t matter how.

The state is complete in itself

like a mushroom or a grave.

Someone is lost,

and the place they’re in

fits nowhere on their agenda,

won’t show on maps

or satellite photographs.

Someone is lost.

Whether adult or child,

they are afraid,

haunted by disappearing earth.

A world that once contained

hairdryers, fences, crowds

now is only a track among the bracken.

Someone is lost.

Whether or not there are search parties

doesn’t matter to them.

They are just as lost

as if no helicopters were churning.

Someone is lost

and it might not be a forest;

it could be a love affair or a hospital bed.

All we can do is report that we’re searching.

Someone is lost.

It happens sometimes.

Sometimes,

that’s the end of the story.

(Third Prize, Ina Coolbrith Annual Poetry Contest 2011, Category: Journeys)

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