Over at dVerse Poets Pub, Mary is tending the bar and asking us to write poems in answer to the question: ‘WHO or WHAT do you miss?’
I miss… understanding (between people). We are too quick to judge, to criticise, to retort, to ban. However, the poem below took me in a different, unexpected direction, although it started with a lack of understanding…
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Writer
His head contains worlds.
People pop out to smoke cigarettes
simper, gossip, screw and pray
maggotty ideas fester – let them die –
voices assault us daily.
What is real he no longer can say.
He’s tried to flirt with mainstream
but his world stays out of kilter
at an angle only he can measure
drumming beats no one will follow
there is no shared vision
how we wish we could belong.
Come inside the head, ladies and gents!
Pause, admire, discover
underneath he’s much like you
a gentler man of erudite barbs
one read and you’ll be captivated
I know he’s worked so hard for this:
How can I make you know too?
