CONTROL: A RATIONALE

So “normal’s” how things are when no one grows
Out of their brother’s hand-me-downs and ways.
Too much change – no, we can’t have that, God knows.

A normal boy gets by at school. His clothes
And haircut suit the general tone these days.
So normal’s how things are when no one grows

His hair too long, or paints his nails, or shows
An interest in stuff teachers call “a phase.”
Too much change – no, we can’t have that, God knows.

Some water’s deep. You wet more than your toes,
Get sucked in, and become one of the strays.
So normal’s how things are when no one goes

Far off the path, follows their untrained nose,
Ends up a headline in the birdcage trays.
Too much change can be dangerous, God knows.

Trust family. When in on you they close,
It’s for your good, despite how it dismays.
So normal’s how things are when no one grows.
Too much change – no, we can’t have that, God knows.


-- © 2010 by Jack Veasey


All rights reserved. This work may no be reproduced or duplicated in any way without the author's written permission.

I shouldn't have to say that this poem is intended to be facetious -- when I get didactic in the last stanza, I don't want people to really do what I'm saying they should. But I've been taken literally before when I didn't want to be, so -- this poem is a sarcastic comment on how I was treated when I was growing up.

A HOLIDAY

We walk along the plaza in the sun.
I miss our pets, and hope I locked the door.
You can’t escape, despite how far you run.

The ancient temple gleams. The Buddhist nun
Speaks English. Did my bet mention the score?
We walk along the plaza in the sun.

Each foreign man looks better than the one
Before him. Smiling, you call me a whore.
You can’t escape, despite how far you run.

My therapist prescribed this trip. Some fun
Might soften our sore spots galore.
We walk along the plaza in the sun.

You say I’ve always been the only one.
Guilt stings me as you talk, and talk some more.
You can’t escape, despite how far you run.

Location can’t unlink a chain begun
When one thing led to others long before.
We walk along the plaza in the sun.
You can’t escape, despite how far you run.

-- © 2009 by Jack Veasey

All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced or duplicated in any way without the author's written permission.

"A Holiday" describes a fictitious vacation taken by a couple. Though they're far from home in an exotic location, they remain preoccupied with the state of things at home and the issues that chronically trouble them.

The poem is a villanelle, a form which has two refrain lines. The most famous example of a villanelle is Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night."