Bruce Mundhenke- A Poem

Facing the Unknown

I do not know where it came from,
Or from where it may have been sent,
I know not if it carried sojourners,
When it left I know not where it went.

It hovered just above the house
Right across the street.
My mother and I raced to my sisters
And swept them off their feet.

With fear we carried them both inside,
And then I went back out,
To stand on the porch and watch the thing,
There was no one else about.

It moved about the neighborhood,
Place to place, like a hummingbird,
My mother afraid, stood in the door,
Speaking not a word.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up
As I watched like a statue of stone,
And the first time ever in my life
I stood facing the unknown.

A door on the bottom then opened,
And a shower of sparks came down,
When I searched the area later,
There was nothing to be found.

It departed in an instant,
Briefly looked like a star in the night,
Then rapidly it vanished,
Completely out of sight.

Even today, that experience,
Often comes to my mind,
And many times, I've wondered,
If maybe I lost some time.