Poem: Chasing Shadows (2020)

On uncertainty, the unknown and patience

something, something,
still in my belly
stuck in the rug
right under the telly
looking above, looking below
many words, lo and fro

but what do they matter
at the end of the night?
still no good answer
to my call, my plight

what is that bearing?
i hear you enqui’ring

well, thanks, i’m not-so-glad you asked
i’m playing a game, and my opponent is masked
we’re dancing in darkness — the matter is life
the unknown my husband, deception his wife

he is a stranger to me
and yet I know him so well
our dance is embrace
familiar his smell

and I do want to catch him
hunt him down, grab him
but he’s too evasive, the little bastard

relax, slow down, composure
didn’t he actually get closer?
a faint flirt with gracious surrender?
a “catch me if you want” — ever so tender?

to bring a man down in gracious spirit
one must loosen the chase and get off his heels
a deep sleep. a good meal. a last cigarette.
and wrists lay bare for the cuffs.

Simon Ohler, 2020