The Voices Within Poem by RIC BASTASA

the voices within
are artful
they do not just come out
in any microphones
they are choosy
they look for one as
sensitive as you
as careful
as gentle
as crafty,
they ask if you have a
menagerie of words
a place where they can be filtered
into stanzas of beauty
and you assure them
you are a studious man
learned of the art of
expression and that you will not fail them
of their message
you tell them you are not color blind
that your sense of smell is
not destroyed by
the foul smells of this nook
your room that
becomes the stock of dirty clothes
and underwear
unwashed for weeks
your empty coffee mugs
your dirty linens spread on the
dusty floors
your twisted window frames
your urine persistent
you smile at them that all things
are simply manageable
and that they will not regret the
consistent efforts of a man
worshiping
transshipping extrapolating
tons of words
into another understandable
language of the
island
they smile
and then you are taken.