Poem 182

Written in 1980 when I was twenty and (I think) published in Nexus (Waikato University student newspaper) – I seem to remember, during the weekend we spent laying out that issue, jumping on my bike and going round to a friend’s flat to get some feedback on the poem before it was printed …

( I like the way this flows, how I’m learning something about rhythm and how to use imperfection to break rhythm – I like the formality of one and one’s in the first few lines, the alliteration and rhymes, the inversion of the stars falling into place – and the poem’s continuing relevance, the choices each new day challenges us with … )

Choices

Today is a day
one might cut one's wrists
or cut one's hair
clear the table or clear the air
of the clutter and crust
that a life builds up

today the stars may fall
there's always the chance they could fall into place
today I could take the world by the balls
I could lick the paper off all the walls
or I could vanish without a trace
   it's been done before

the day holds choices through the bars
dances a little in doubt
left or right
a little less or more
half a step and you're at the door
the question remains
in or out?