why didn’t anybody tell me?
they told me all sorts of things
why romeo wanted
juliet so bad / manners / the number of planets circling
the sun / the contracted expression of pi / the colours on
flags (but never why land was divided) / how to
shoot basketballs / draw straight / cross the streets
without becoming death
as i got older they showed me how to
fill in forms / gel my hair / take a train / sing
as though no-one was listening / call the shots / WINSTON CHURCHILL
build a website / strike a match / knock ten bells out of nails
say grace / drive a car / use a condom
never give in
they taught me how to lie
they claim they taught me
how truth prevails
they kept telling me things
but nobody told me about this
left alone in rooms
towns and cities full of
bodies / faces / hollow promises
to figure that out
i needed a blackboard
a clock ticking slowly on the wall
someone drenched in suede and cotton
pointing at me / revealing me / organising me
into manageable incantations
i needed lists to be made
plans to be laid / a label to hang on my
head like a lampshade
i needed something that they never gave
Paul Robert Mullen is a poet, musician and sociable loner from Liverpool, U.K. He has three published poetry collections: curse this blue raincoat (2017), testimony (2018), and 35 (2018). He has been widely published in magazine, journals and anthologies worldwide. Paul also enjoys paperbacks with broken spines, and all things minimalist. He is a regular contributor for Marias at Sampaguitas.
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