Stepladder (a poem)

This is what came through my mental transom this evening…

The life of the defensive tourist
has restrictions, you know

a barely defined sense
of what it means

of what it means to be
something that can barely be defined

How much of this is the way it’s supposed to be?
How much of it is what I’ve brought upon me?

The defensive tourist walks
around block after block
looking for where he came from

Asking for directions is not an option

I’ll find the train station again, I swear
I just have to figure out where
to make that left turn

* * * * * * * * * *

A barely defined sense
walks into a bar
where nobody gets the joke
and I’m not sure what started it
in the first place

I’m just writing the words down
as they come to me
and hoping they’ll make sense later

I haven’t got any more of a clue now
than I did before
and the clouds in the sky confuse me

It feels like forever
since I’ve heard from you

* * * * * * * * * *

Something that can barely be defined
is always lurking around a corner somewhere

Most of the time I don’t notice
I prefer rounded edges to sharp ones
so I can slide along the wall
and pretend I’m a spy hot on the trail

Then again, it’s a good thing I’m not a spy—
though I have a talent for stealth
I have no aptitude for espionage

* * * * * * * * * *

How much of this is the way it’s supposed to be?

I am my own resistance
trenches dug for the long haul

It’s an endless battle for the soul
for… my soul

Which doesn’t want to be found
or at least is willing to make itself harder to find

How much of it is what I’ve brought upon me?

* * * * * * * * * *

Asking for directions is not an option

The universe has fallen apart
since David Bowie died
so none of the maps are current anymore
if I were inclined to use them

When a piece falls into my lap
I pick it up with a paper towel
and drop it in the wastebasket

Next time I get lost
it will be my beacon home

* * * * * * * * * *

I’ll find the train station again, I swear
I’ve almost unlocked the combination

The beeping in my pocket
says the universe is calling
so now I must go home

I have enough for another ticket

(16 July 2021)

Wishes sometimes have consequences is available to order from your favorite local bookstore.

Information about my other books can be found here.

Ordinary Average Thoughts