The shortest distance

By David Appelbaum

between two
is rejection

 

a self lags behind
itself
swaddled in shame

 

it’s natural

 

jonquils stunned
by frost, drooping heads

 

the broken wing
tossed from the nest

 

if there and here
were the same
we all would be winners

the loser’s revenge

a non-story

the hero’s destiny
a commonplace

 

getting would have
no how

 

but be part of
the wallpaper

 

a journey without
surprise

 

life would take forever
while dying
of boredom

.

 

David Appelbaum has worked in the university and in publishing, and is an author who specializes in the work of writing. His most recent books include notes on water: an aqueous phenomenology.