Tying to make it all add up
to you.
Subtle kinds of equations
with hidden integers
I miss every time.
Look across the room to you,
like I’m seeing high art
for the first time
in my life.
Beggar of a rich man.
Cretin of a savant.
Shatter every expectation
that I have ever had
of myself
and call me “Fool’s gold.”
Never wrong in an instant.
Tough to pin you down.
How did you figure out
such a strong defense
from the ground?
Smash me like a mirror.
Now,
I’m a thousand tiny reflections.
Each one failing
to return to you
your true image.
Make me a believer.
I am always apostate
and impoverished
in my simple ways.
I disperse
and return.
Like morning mist
after a hard rain.
Cloud around you,
trying to decipher your state.
Failing again,
but never abstaining.
Always the first one through the door,
because you are always there
on the other side,
waiting to be discovered.
A mystery in any color.
DJR – 2023
