Back Next The Boat

Back in this block
of granite
wiggling around
as if indeed
I could free myself.
stretching out
hoping I could
find the countryside
or retrieve each
point in mistaken time
when I should have
gone right
instead of left.
even if I could
wiggle out from
all these blocks
of granite
and reappear
at a distance
what would I see
but the ruins of a castle
and the grounds
strewn with garbage
and old bottle caps.
and what shall I say
to myself around
this polluted water?
which shadow figure
in me shall I beat up
for leading me here?
none to thank
none to punish
I missed the boat
for I tore up my own
ticket
in order to miss the boat.
Shall I hire myself out
as a terrorist
and smile my way
into some explosion?

Irwin R. Shaw - December 26th 1983