A Dream
He can see that
She loves doing this more
Than anything,
A dream finally
Identified, acted upon,
Yet not quite what
He thinks it should be.
He says something
Unhelpful.
Movement
No matter what happens,
How many setbacks
Present themselves to
Mock his mettle,
He continues his forward
Movement, remembering
That what matters is
Being on his path.
Realize
There are many occasions
When she wonders whether
What she just did is
What she should have done
And whether it will
In some way reflect poorly
On her decision-making
Ability or will just fade
Into obscurity until,
At some indeterminate time
In the future, it reappears
To remind her of
What she didn’t
Realize at the time.
Nondescript
A humdrum bureaucrat
Sitting behind a nondescript
Desk in a characterless room,
Mechanically filling out
Form after form, as he was
Told to do by somebody,
It doesn’t matter who.
All just numbers, inert objects
To be shuffled around,
Statistics filling page
After page after page.
He takes a sip of coffee,
Picks up the phone to call
His wife about dinner.
Artifice
What it must be like
To wake up every
Morning and know that
You have to defend a
Way of life shrouded
In secrets, untruths,
Misdirection, inauthenticity,
Points of view steeped in
Dissonance. Struggling to
Make things fit that
Were never meant to,
Pretending to be someone
You’re not, not a moment’s
Peace, suffocating artifice.
Strong Suits
I’m not sure whether
He disapproves or
Is utterly perplexed
By what I’ve just said,
Although I’m certain
He doesn’t understand
Anything beyond his own
Unconscious reaction,
Empathy not being
One of his strong suits.
The Same Person
They visit me at
Odd moments, remnants
Of a past existence I
Can barely relate to.
Strange reminders of
The same person
Separated only by
Time and experience.
They arrive
Unannounced and overstay
Their welcome, reviving
Memories best left forgotten.
Closing the door
Behind me, I bid them
A good day and
Go for a walk.
The Last
Too many times.
This one was the last.
How do I know?
I’m different now
And they’re the same,
Change not in
Their vocabulary.