What seemed initially
To be exactly what
She always wanted
Turned out to be a weight
Around her neck,
A constant reminder
That things would
Never be the same,
That she very well
Might have chosen the
Absolutely wrong path and
Would never be able
To admit it to anyone.
Run, jump, jubilant, free.
Hunker, flinch, frown, ossify.
Two outwardly normal men
Sit on a park bench.
One admires the birds in the sky
Playing a carefree game.
The other sees a small
Chance of heavy rain and
Intractable despondency.
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.
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.
I turned my back
On art and she,
Knowing more than me,
Waited patiently while
I sorted things out,
Struggling day to day,
Existing as another
Until I finally
Saw her as she
Had always been.
From nothing, something beautiful,
Vulnerable, sublime and extraordinary.
Venture where others dare not travel
For fear of encountering hidden
Truth. Thrive on tenuous line, between
Reality and imagination. One moment
Here, the next vanishing, replaced
By new creations born from suffering,
Discomfort, confusion, ecstasy.
Sitting alone in
Some coffee shop,
Wondering what
Might have been
Had he listened to
Anyone but himself.
Hours spent pondering,
Musing, mulling, meandering,
Committing entrails to paper,
Canvas, string, embouchure.
Kaplunk of feet on boards,
Voice filling the voids,
Light beyond which one
Can’t see; the frown, shrug,
Raised eyebrow of disapproval,
Smile of fulfillment and
Ecstasy, connecting to the
Essence of all that matters.
Lachryma lingering on cheek.
Transcendent gleam,
A bird flying because it can.
Every one of them
Huddling inside bland houses,
Emerging occasionally
To throw some meat
On the fire,
Or let the dog out,
Or start the car.
They’ll experience occasional,
Outsized moments of joy
When offspring arrive
With their offspring
To interrupt the
Stifling tedium.
Nothing to talk about
With the spouse.
Lurk in the garage
Drinking beer,
Working on the latest
Time-killing project
The neighbors will
Endure listening to.
Encompassing mediocrity,
Enforced sameness.
On the second floor of
A beige house,
A young woman writes
A poem.
