But I Must Return Poem by Margaret Alice

Voices, refined, modulated
talking, talking, explaining
repeating refrains, on and
on and on – reverberating
in my head

I cannot find the silence in
my mind, reading about the
environment and sustainable
development, the voice keeps
talking

Even rhythm, without passion
in expression, without imparting
anything of interest, monotonously
enunciating phrases - this is
prison indeed

A prisoner of circumstance am I
caught within a space of cultivated
voices droning on, I can flee a while
but I must return, the insomnia
of last night

Has worn my patience thin, nowhere’s
safe when fatigue takes me prisoner –
then thrown into the genteel company
of talking voices that
I can’t escape

Sitting quietly in a hidey hole, a
moment of respite, but I must
return...