Not
You not here
to not know what
key goes in what lock;
to tell not exactly the truth
about who said what to whom;
to spend the whole first day
of the January sales
examining tea towels
you end up not buying; to notice
I’ve not yet mowed the lawn,
to not know when
the oil will run out, or have
a plan B, or a good word
for your enemies; to send me out
at four in the morning in search of
cigarettes; to stand smoking
by the kitchen window and say
this didn’t happen; to smirk
and tell the world
moving furniture was never his thing
the day I do my shoulder in
carrying your coffin.

Kevin Higgins

From ‘The Ghost in the Lobby’ (Salmon Poetry, 2014).

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9 thoughts on “Untying Nots

  1. some old queen

    Michael D. Higgins has launched his army of poets so. Yes, that will definitely help- he could afford to practise social distancing long before it became fashionable.

  2. Janet, I ate my avatar

    La nuit n’est jamais complète

    La nuit n’est jamais complète
    Il y a toujours puisque je le dis
    Puisque je l’affirme
    Au bout du chagrin une fenêtre ouverte
    Une fenêtre éclairée
    Il y a toujours un rêve qui veille
    Désir à combler faim à satisfaire
    Un coeur généreux
    Une main tendue une main ouverte
    Des yeux attentifs
    Une vie à se partager.

    Paul Eluard, Le Phénix

      1. Janet, I ate my avatar

        sure google translate, keep ya busy ;)
        I’m actually trying to learn a new language during this time,
        no harm upskilling

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