An Unfinished Letter to M. Ennenbach – Dictated

please, indulge me for a moment

if you’ve a few to spare

as I seize this opportunity

at a live, captive audience of one

for singularity of expression is

the form behind my function

or the function of my form, if you will

let not my darting eyes deceive you

for in their tone, a truth lies waiting

with the ulterior motive to consume you

in a bouncing narrative of woe is me

and woe is you, a self-imposed exile

loathing for the rest of them

as they tumble through a rhythm

of misunderstanding and waiting rooms

waiting for the afflicted to recognize

their affliction in a time of reflection

that ain’t nobody got the time for

and it’s me, if lucky, will land

a hook, and reel in the unsuspecting

revealing the unwilling, kicking on

the shore while the sun warms

our scales, better than an

alleyway or broken bottle, unless

that’s your thing, who am I

to judge, but I will, because

that’s my thing with my dime

store pen and stolen notebook

there’s no denying the rhythm

to this, sounds a lot like

the last, hope the next one

doesn’t give up on me like

the first one did, out of

necessity or over-exposure it’s a

dead-ringer for something I’m

sure I’ve heard before, or maybe

read, as I tend to ignore most

what I hear, show don’t tell

they say, but wait, I got

something to say, not something

to show you, try and give that

up for an original thought once

in a while, or don’t, it’s

no skin off my teeth, but I

got some skin in the game, that’s for sure

not sure how, or when that happened

but it’s what they tell me, I’ve

been assured, reassured, promises made

it’s coming, we just have to

get there in the nick of time

as we’re wasting time, daring

the last shoe to drop, for the

debt collectors and admiration junkies

who suck everything dry around us

as if there was ever any life

to be found in this place, in the first place

but there’s something shared in

knowing that you’re not the only one

who leaves the hallway light on

when you leave your house for the last time

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Check out M. Ennenbach’s blog here

or his books here