Involuntary Muscle

Thomas Quitzau

October 9, 2022

         Out of the air a voice without a face

          Proved by statistics that some cause was just

                    The Shield of Achilles, W. H. Auden

Wake up! And move through the doorsill standing

Peer into this air, so rare and common

Don’t board rockets, intentions demanding

Listen! Harken back and boldly summon

For this era, knowledgeably prepared

Shares the winds that have screamed like old sages

Horrors, repeated mistakes they’ve declared

Hover, shock-waving commanders’ rages

Still go out, still breathe, still measure wisely

Spherically fracturing resounding

Irrelevant Time gapes imprecisely

Now out! And hold up His warm heart pounding

Thomas Quitzau grew up in the Gulf Coast region and worked for over 30 years in Houston, Texas. A self-ascribed member of the ZenJourno School of poetry, Tom recently relocated with his family to Long Island, New York where he teaches and writes.