{"id":13030,"date":"2020-06-13T20:35:19","date_gmt":"2020-06-13T18:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/egophobia.ro\/?p=13030"},"modified":"2020-06-14T21:58:39","modified_gmt":"2020-06-14T19:58:39","slug":"poems-by-michael-t-smith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/?p=13030","title":{"rendered":"poems by Michael T. Smith"},"content":{"rendered":"

E<\/u><\/em><\/strong> T<\/u> R<\/u> A<\/u> H<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

During the moon landing I was on earth<\/p>\n

But ever asked: how subjective is \u2018here?\u2019<\/p>\n

At what point does famil\u2019rity have birth?<\/p>\n

In a dark side of the sun place a hearth.<\/p>\n

Because a home of heart is without peer<\/p>\n

During the moon landing I was on earth<\/p>\n

Beg with a Styrofoam cup of such worth:<\/p>\n

Spacemen in a fishbowl of walls not clear.<\/p>\n

At what point does famil\u2019rity have birth?<\/p>\n

For space to be on a premium dearth<\/p>\n

On a TV screen wide enough for cheer.<\/p>\n

During the moon landing I was on earth<\/p>\n

Hands held across a million miles in mirth<\/p>\n

Static dances for grains of a soiled year<\/p>\n

At what point does famil\u2019rity have birth?<\/p>\n

Our empty hands surround a riddling girth<\/p>\n

A small dubloin of proximity ne\u2019er near<\/p>\n

During the moon landing I was on earth<\/p>\n

At what point does famil\u2019rity have birth?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Just words <\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Truth is I don\u2019t know<\/p>\n

if any of my experiences are real,<\/p>\n

or if I\u2019m only<\/p>\n

stuck in a memory or two,<\/p>\n

which is essentially the footer<\/p>\n

to all I do.\u00a0 But\u00a0 —<\/p>\n

can you tell me who I am<\/p>\n

from who I tell you?<\/p>\n

Or better to read me in the margins,<\/p>\n

in some text sous rature,<\/em><\/p>\n

for the truth is —<\/p>\n

regardless of what either of us says — full stop,<\/p>\n

I am a stranger unto reality,<\/p>\n

when so much of it exists<\/p>\n

outside of me.<\/p>\n

Can you tell me how you hurt the word?<\/p>\n

What you hate about yourself?<\/p>\n

How to be an outlaw for a dime?<\/p>\n

Who am I to judge what I<\/p>\n

remember?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Winter Afternoon<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I am writing a poem because it\u2019s winter,<\/p>\n

and I am inside.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to<\/p>\n

Right now, <\/em>and<\/p>\n

it shows \u2013<\/p>\n

\u201cProving\u201d my point by showing this poor muddle —<\/p>\n

better than the telling words,<\/p>\n

flowery as they could be,<\/p>\n

tattling in their own way,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

and reveling in my own circle of complaints.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ship of Fools<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

This heavy Ship of Fools <\/em>so soon cast off –<\/p>\n

The gentleman onboard, their hats they doff.<\/p>\n

Heads t\u2019 follow, our thoughts dear but abaft are<\/p>\n

Stuffing that light in th\u2019 madness of May \u2018far.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The court is a\u2019 jester with an inf\u2019nite smile.<\/p>\n

Hark! The two-headed coin of the gryllos<\/p>\n

Finds many maps in skel\u2019tal trees virile \u2013<\/p>\n

S\u2019 they rest their many mouths on lead pillows.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This sea of nothing, down our throats we quaff.<\/p>\n

O lo, we spiral down this dark Passion pit<\/p>\n

From Madrid\u2019s silent tower falling off<\/p>\n

To jerk our movements into another fit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do cold showers overhead skirt this place\u2026<\/p>\n

For this Tree o\u2019 Knowledge has a happy face?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Perception of My Own Grave<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The perception of my own grave<\/p>\n

Is always a long thought.<\/p>\n

Death becomes pictorial,<\/p>\n

Held by the thistled frame of tall grass.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This mountain at a\u2019 given distance<\/p>\n

All the more clear becomes<\/p>\n

When the artist\u2019s jiggling hand<\/p>\n

Drops the coarse brush in art\u2019s depiction.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It seems a shame that anything<\/p>\n

But weeds should form this shroud.<\/p>\n

Yet th\u2019 joke\u2019s calling this plot mine<\/p>\n

When worms form my makeshift diadem<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

E T R A H   During the moon landing I was on earth But ever asked: how subjective is \u2018here?\u2019 At what point does famil\u2019rity have birth? In a dark side of the sun place a hearth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1420,77],"tags":[1421,1123,1434],"class_list":["post-13030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-egophobia-63","category-english","tag-egophobia-63","tag-english","tag-michael-t-smith"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6DakB-3oa","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13030"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13031,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13030\/revisions\/13031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}