Trying to make
Sense of it,
No answers forthcoming.
Another mind,
Impossible to decipher
Without help.
Silence,
Absence of
Understanding.
A particular moment,
A decision made to
Move in a direction
Resisted until now.
An imperceptible shift,
Change of course,
Unrestrained, unfettered,
Unemotional, unopen.
Each action builds the moat,
A long swim in an industrially
Tainted pool left for dead,
Lasting an eternity.
She sits next to me and
We talk about
The time we were on
A plane and couldn’t
Stop laughing because
Of a joke we made up,
And the trip we took
To the island where
I learned to swim and
Where we spent hours
Looking for shells in
Balmy tide pools.
We talk about everything:
Our hopes, dreams,
Things that bother us,
Fears, disappointments.
We smile openly,
She vanishes.
Change was the
Single most frightening
Thing to him.
He had always been
This way and didn’t
Want to modify it.
He was utterly
Miserable and
Desperately unfulfilled.
He’d hang on
Just a little longer,
Until it was all over.
The birds see me
Looking at them
From inside the house.
They don’t know what
I’m thinking,
Or maybe they do.
All he’s able to
Feel is the fear
They keep driving
Into his already
Frazzled brain,
A constant pulse of
Anxiety and dread,
Pictures of horrible
Things happening
Everywhere, too much
To assimilate in any
Other way than panic,
Insidious affliction.
Her fate was decided behind
Closed doors. After some time,
They emerged from the chamber,
Delivered her sentence, a
Ruthless slap in the face
Administered by pusillanimous
Minions immune to truth.
A gaggle of feeble followers
Reinforcing each other’s
Frailties, susceptible to
Manipulation, incitement, the
Sustenance of the prostrate.
She’s so busy issuing
Insipid proclamations
About her own perception
Of the world that she
Neglects the limping
Casualties of her
Discomforting sunniness.
Everything is so wonderful
And organized in her eyes,
It couldn’t be any other way,
She can’t survive a day
Without imposing her
Unnecessary, unsolicited
Imprimatur of suitability.
Two quiet birds
Sat together in
A tree, enjoying
Each other’s company,
Sharing a placid afternoon
In a beautiful garden.
One young person
Stepped outside and
Admired the idyllic scene.
Another young person
Scared them away,
Unmoved.
