inertia

By John Sweet

you begin to see how it
might be done

the act of turning away

of not writing or
not breathing

cobain
yes
and then the more subtle examples

the ghosts of lost fathers
or the forgotten voices
of old lovers

their words nailed to crosses

their smiles broken

torn to shreds
and the pen awkward in your hands

the poem like some vital organ
removed slowly
and without anesthesia

this picture of myself from
when i was younger
hung on the stairway wall

the way i seemed to
believe in something

the way gorky tied the rope
then stepped from the chair

my children

none of this their fault