Cool And Still Dignified.... Poem by RIC BASTASA

you do not tell me what hurts me
most,
i know it too well, i who feel,
who fell
into this abyss of
self-throwing which we, or
i cannot
refuse, for this is, i think,
is the
inevitable.

The falling.
The lost paradise.
The sin of commission and omission.
The marriage of fools.
The victory of the Dumb.

To say the least,
i have never failed myself.
I still have restraint,
despite the affection.
I still maintained a square jaw
despite my
failing eyesight.

Let me say it once more.
I take refuge in silence.
This power.
This anonymity.

Love the nocturnes.
and the twist and turns.
The mind's war is raging.
The body still.

Outside everything is still
manageable.
You see me walking, just walking.
just walking.

whatever rages in my mind
is mine alone.
Do not call the firemen.
My fire is invisible.

If there is a house burning,
or a body trapped within in,
Let me tell you,
It is not mine.