On the Unknowable Variety of Gone

Gone to you, gone to everyone,
And gone. Gone, but present to you,
Gone but present to everyone,

And gone. Gone as in never was,
Gone as in never knew, gone as
Just some memory in one skull,

And gone. You know there are things
And persons gone to you, gone
But present to you, or not gone,

Which you never knew, not gone but
You’ve forgotten. You know there are
Phenomena long ago gone

Where they were but present to you
And everyone, light years later.
You know there are things that were lost

And unknown to everyone, then
Dug up as part of a present past
Hundreds, thousands of years later.

But you don’t know what might have been
That no one remembers, can’t be
Recovered, if such things ever were,

If such things could exist to leave
From any form of existence,
That were, that were, that were, that were,

And gone.