Friday, December 23, 2016

I Apologise - Day 22 - Sara Dowse

I apologise,
it’s second nature.
Even on the footpath
passing a threesome
smiling and talking
girl talk or into phones
a bump from them 
will have me
voicing the words
‘I’m sorry.’

Mid-century girl-child
inching towards catastrophe
I was bred to it,
a breech to my mother:
‘I’m sorry.’
And here’s the peculiar bit,
I say it to everything,
a toaster, a chair,
inanimate things
that neither hear nor care,
and yet it slips out
not even reluctantly:
‘I’m sorry.’

But what if I’m right,
if the world of things
and the atoms that compose
them are the same as those 
swirling inside me,
comprising the whole
of the universe?

One single cosmos
and everywhere in it
something to regret.


7 comments:

  1. This poem is perfect, Sara. Just perfect.

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  2. Sure is. Especially love the last verse and line.

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  3. Dear me, Lizz. Lovely to hear from you. Praise indeed.

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  4. 'Sara, stop apologizing, it's a great poem.'
    'I'm sorry.'
    :)

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  5. sorry has a lot to be said for it
    and the world would be happier were it said more often

    ReplyDelete

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