Travelers Welcome

Travelers Welcome

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Blinking Like Ferrets

by Donal Mahoney

I've been too busy
the last two years to chat
with anyone in the office.
Today, however, I pause
at the pencil sharpener
while my co-workers
calculate and jot.
It makes no difference, you see,
if I remain silent until retirement
or if suddenly I start talking again.

All we must remember is
that we decay together,
that this charade
we give ourselves to
doesn't require that we speak,
that all we must do, really,
is calculate and jot.

If we calculate well,
if we jot well, the charade
will carry us through.
In the end, we'll see what is true
when blinking like ferrets
we emerge in sunlight,
gaping and gasping,
free of this maze created
by the family of man.

1 comment:

  1. This poem is well written and understated and truthful and painful and speaks of the everyday honor and the mundane sacrifices of living on earth, surrounded by people and utterly alone.

    Jenny P

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