On a Monday returning to work

(A Ghazal / An Aubade / An Exercise in Semiotics)

1.

we live in an era of dence remembrance:
chafing on the flagpole from flying at half-staff intends
remembrance

2.

fear & latency continue to rule the day:
new sign on the school door that forbids handguns pretends
remembrance

3.

every September Autumn slides in from the south:
I read the flags out my west facing window, wind’s
remembrance

4.

the newness of it all has begun to ware off:
looks on their tentative faces suggest absence
or remembrance?

5.

and you, William, where is your mind today?
a dozen years fall away as dates in a book in a moment of intense
remembrance