CHEAP CATHARSIS – XVI

 

Deface with impunity
pierce with sharp objects
scrawl mar obscure obliterate
come cleanse your soul of
off-kilter incredulity
festering indignation
outrage.

Welcome
for the moment
this cheap catharsis
at your fingertips
what more can be done
while waiting for the
apocalypse.

Never taught to be nice
I strove to be good
while missing
nuance
they relied on righteousness
inherited instincts
survival.

Do unto others won’t cut it Ma
with the hoi polloi
clumsy baldfaced ideals
crash repeatedly
unintentionally
transparent
in the small antique shop.

Nobody else signed on
for
the bargain
was
mine
alone.

How does verse permit
converse
with opaque truths
playing with words
as if as if they count
for whom this thus takes
its toll.

Meanwhile searchingly
I admire the
smooth surfaces
buffed and toned
muted color
did
you know
that.

Slather my father’s paper with petroleum paint
what gives me the right
to impose this on others and
do I really want
to spill
my guts on
the internet.

It’s a bad confluence.
Expunge.
It!

 

 

– Diane Sophrin
  Vermont. 12.6.20

 

click here to open in PDF format