To witness

What does it mean to witness
something or someone
a birth
a death
a thousand deaths
countless "acts of"

genocide rape and war crimes

Does this make you some sort of guardian angel
or does it mean you're a voyeur
standing staring unable to touch intervene or look away

Does it mean you live in a world without punctuation
where time is split into shards of memory
here a scar
there a still open wound
here a grave
this one for him
that one for you

They want classifications determinations and explanations
They need to know just how many and how much
before that great dinosaur will move
spread itself too thin you see
on the edge, dear, of extinction
they said it was sleeping
and some catastrophe woke it up
but really this is code for planning
hibernating perhaps
but planning the next big show

I'm so sorry
If I let go of your hand
I couldn't say that it was only because my fingers slipped
To be honest, I've been staring too long
from the edge of myself
A bit concerned over when my time will come
and who will be there for me
when the gloves come off
and the dinosaur reveals itself for what it always was