canadian ~ twenty-first century literature since 1999


Getting Back to Lonely 

by Jim Mackey

Tell the chairs to tell the tables
And don't forget the bed.
Pull each book aside, one by one
So they feel no less special than the others.
Wait until morning
For the tired lamps to know.
They've been up all night with the blinds
Who hid the truth from the windows.
Tell the couch to put away the quilt
And hush the pillows
From retelling conversations
Word for word.
We all tip toe around the phone,
So stoic since you've gone,
Quiet in the tragedy of the truth.

Last words from rolling Gower Street
Wrapped in wires
And wet all the way
To the long skies west of the Grace.
There's a busy silence in the apartment,
We're all hard at work
At getting back to lonely.

Jim Mackey is from Newfoundland and lives in New Brunswick where he practices the dark trade of advertising. He remains an old ex-patriot human being.

 

 

 

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TDR is produced in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 

All content is copyright of the person who created it and cannot be copied, printed, or downloaded without the consent of that person. 

See the masthead for editorial information. 

All views expressed are those of the writer only. 

TDR is archived with the Library and Archives Canada

ISSN 1494-6114. 

 

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. Nous remercions de son soutien le Conseil des Arts du Canada.