A poem from a good while back....
Broken Sonnet: Nikki: Psychiatrist’s Notes
His ex who dreams in madness dreams his eyes.
She calls his name; she mentions him to walls.
She broods on him at home in bed. Sometimes she cries,
Sniffling into tissues filched from ladies’ stalls.
(I shouldn’t mock; you’ll think me hard as nails.
It‘s her that makes the jokes. She’s tough. She says,
“I‘m bored. Let‘s booze like portside sailor boys.”)
Mad acts, I know, should not our souls disport.
The mad need balance, one hand to grip the rail,
A guiding tug to bring them into port.
“Is God with me?” She asks the ceiling tiles.
“Or am I lashed and broke on Fortune’s wheel?”
Some nights he visits, gives a kiss, a smile,
The shabby blandishments of a barker’s spiel.
They shared a kingdom once, joined flesh and bone;
But now they reign apart on ruined thrones.
--2007
Broken Sonnet: Nikki: Psychiatrist’s Notes
His ex who dreams in madness dreams his eyes.
She calls his name; she mentions him to walls.
She broods on him at home in bed. Sometimes she cries,
Sniffling into tissues filched from ladies’ stalls.
(I shouldn’t mock; you’ll think me hard as nails.
It‘s her that makes the jokes. She’s tough. She says,
“I‘m bored. Let‘s booze like portside sailor boys.”)
Mad acts, I know, should not our souls disport.
The mad need balance, one hand to grip the rail,
A guiding tug to bring them into port.
“Is God with me?” She asks the ceiling tiles.
“Or am I lashed and broke on Fortune’s wheel?”
Some nights he visits, gives a kiss, a smile,
The shabby blandishments of a barker’s spiel.
They shared a kingdom once, joined flesh and bone;
But now they reign apart on ruined thrones.
--2007