Thursday, August 04, 2011
"The Renegade Poet Confesses" (poem by Dorothy)
The Renegade Poet Confesses
All right,
I did it.
In a time
when despair
was the fashion,
when nothing was approved
unless it confirmed
the catastrophe
unfolding all around,
when any one who was the least
cosmopolitan (and all poets imagine
they are the most cosmopolitan
of the species) sang
from the safe distance
of ironic detachment,
I played innocent,
affirmed the unattainable,
looked heavenward
(that old cliche)
for inspiration.
When others retreated
into the safety of the
personal,
the quotidian world
of the everyday familiar
(my youth,
my father,
my wife,
my child)
I abondoned
such themes
for a broader canvas.
Even god was allowed
to enter and play a role.
Even the ultimate
crept
into
my verses.
I had seen
what I had seen,
felt what I had felt.
Now I knew what I knew,
and would not deny
it,
even though it
dimmed my light
in all but the smallest
circles,
even though my name
was only
a whisper.
Dorothy Walters
August 1, 2011
