‘The Watcher’ by B. L. Perez

For Bishop Berkeley & for Madman Blake

First, the wind; then, the waves; then the shore
—but the Mind—yes, the Mind—long before.

First, darkness; then, ignition; then the light
—but Vision—yes, Vision—long before sight.

First, nowhere; then, somewhere; then everywhere
—each here—each there—like a visual prayer.

First, the past; then, the present; then the future
—for ever for—forevermore—the Watcher.

B. L. Pérez earned his BA in Religious Studies from UC Berkeley and his MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College. He used to teach writing courses at the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI); now he teaches writing courses at University of Maryland University College (UMUC) sites on U.S. military bases in Japan. Lately he has been writing very short poems, examples of which have recently been published in issue no. 5 of Concīs and issue no. 13 of NOON: Journal of the Short Poem.