The Words That I Have Not Written Poem by RIC BASTASA

for the words i have not written
i accept i have been a coward
the moment these words become transparent
in my mind, i always tell them gently
i have not the strength to write you
you have become subjects beyond
my power and please understand
the consequences of having to write
all of you: waiting to be printed and read

like the Sphinx and its riddle before
Oedipus, if i were to write all of you
i may be able to save a kingdom in distress

but please understand what happens to me next
for like Oedipus i may be compelled to pluck my eyes out
from my face
and i may roam the earth begging for forgiveness
throughout my life
because i have been blind by fate for all those years

writing you is honesty
and it is this honesty that may at the end kill me
and so
i am very sorry