[Over There He Made]

Stephen Dobyns

Over here he made a pile of what he had had and
lost. Over there a pile of what he was owed. Then a
pile of what he possessed and a pile of what he
desired. After measuring them, he added a pile of
what he deserved and put it beside the others. Then
came the pile of what was his by rights, the pile of
what he had failed to achieve, the pile of what he
had been cheated out of, the pile of what had been
stolen. His calculations took years. In the beginning
he had had many gifts, different roads his life could
take, now his calculations took all his attention-
what he had, what others had, what he should
have-all the oughts and might-have-beens. It made
its own pile.