In Absentia

You know, it feels lucky to happen to be on the boards when one of yours goes up.

This is beautiful, but very sad. "If you were here" - just four words, but it kills a bit.

And this -

Such is but a fitting
sentence from a veiled and
unassailable distance

Click to expand...

is a perfect description of that special brand of bravery(?) borne of distance.

Excellent poem.

No poet here, but I just wanted to comment on the content of what I think is a striking piece. I don't read your poems often, but when I do, I'm usually struck by the tension in the narrator between a harsh sense of self - isolationist and critical - with a painful yearning for connection, comfort, understanding.

Interestingly, in this case I can't decide if the "you" is a positive or negative presence. On one hand, their simple and practical statement (in contrast to the narrator's more poetic and vivid language) might snap the narrator out of his sad reverie. On the other, it bluntly discounts his pain.

Nice work.

Unfortunately, in our ever growing globalized world, I think this is becoming a universal theme.

As ever, your word choice is spot on. The sibilance of the first stanza fits the context in a surprising way. And the final line, Jamie had it just right. It does kill a bit. Thanks for sharing, Haskins.

Excellent poem, William. Thank you for sharing it.