Talking To My Own Snakes.... Poem by RIC BASTASA

everyone is obsessed with
themselves
when a conversation is
struck
be it in the bus or somewhere
else
a path is mapped out
leading to the self, his kids,
her husband,
his accomplishments, his house,
her cat, some cooking and
family dinner

the door is closed for you
to get inside and feel the ambiance
of the soul

the world of each man is self-centered
all planets and all suns
revolving around this selfishness

and with this in mind i am no longer
bothered
i have accepted this tenet
this rule of engagement and thus

when i talk to you even before you
have spoken the first word
or invoked the first image
i have already forgiven you.

in some deaf moments it is there
where i make a space of my own
in the middle of your forest trees
i also talk to my own snakes.