Friday, July 01, 2005

The Only John Ashberry Poem I Understand

JUST WALKING AROUND
John Ashberry


What name do I have for you?
Certainly there is no name for you
In the sense that the stars have names
That somehow fit them. Just walking around,

An object of curiosity to some,
But you are too preoccupied
By the secret smudge in the back of your soul
To say much, and wander around,

Smiling to yourself and others
It gets to be kind of lonely
But at the same time off-putting
Counterproductive, as you realize once again

That the longest way is the most efficient way,
That one that looped among islands, and
You always seemed to be traveling in a circle.
And now that end is near

The segments of the trip swing open like an orange .
There is light in there, and mystery and food.
Come see it. Come not for me but it.
But if I am still there, grant that we may see each other.

1 comment:

Andrew Gabriel Rose said...

Vague but explicable. I really like this, so natural and complete. I'd like to express myself so well once or twice.