"...so pens wobbled and fell off their desk..."

music: Unicornio Azul Silvio Rodriguez El Unicornio Azul ( please open music link in a new tab to listen to while you read the poem)

“In Pain Burlesque”
For D.R.

The saddest poem I ever tried to write
sucked all the strength from my fingers
each and every night,
so pens wobbled and fell off their desk
and keypads waved under water
everything was sinking, swaying, and stuttering
in pain burlesque.

Oh I had a few words put away just in case
you couldn’t say” I thank you too”
or  remember my name or face,
when you passed me on the street
like someone you once  knew
limping her way back home
on bleeding shoes.

The road ahead unpaved but laid in stone,
we were but a sack of unwanted kittens
on your bridge to  be thrown,
into oblivion all we might have known,
no tears for what was lost
no recognition for what was given.

The saddest poem I ever tried to write
sucked all the strength from my fingers
each and every night,
so pens wobbled and fell off their desk
and keypads waved under water
everything was sinking, swaying, and stuttering
in pain burlesque.

Karima Hoisan
April 8, 2009
Finca La Generosa