Life is elsewhere
in deserted strip malls,
discarded cups,
dingy pool halls
illumined with alarming neon lights.
In drag races,
abandoned lots,
harsh grass forcing
its way through cracks.
Stray cats,
cigarette ash.
In black coffee,
wine stains,
a torn t-shirt.
Snapped washing lines,
sign of the dystopian times.
The factory on the river
with staring eyes,
smashed glass,
shattered remains long gone
in black, stagnant water.
Locked up houses,
silent, sad streets
with lost property cars
& streetlights long burnt out.
Life is buried beneath
cold cellar boards
& waves drifting onto the shore.
Life is for those other people,
stretching out, but untouchable.
Life is the near future
never quite reached,
just dreamed
dozing on rattling trains,
sitting upright,
zipped mouth agape.
In a drop of slow saliva
or sweat
evaporating off
somewhere unknown
& returning.
Life is envy, uncertainty,
endless waiting.
Life is always elsewhere
* Title stolen from the Milan Kundera novel
-
Author:
rebmasters (
Offline) - Published: July 21st, 2021 12:18
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 47
- User favorite of this poem: L. B. Mek.
Offline)
Comments4
The will to live was hard-wired in Nature when it began. Life is a snap-shot of the living steam.
'Love is the longing for the half of ourselves we have lost.'
― Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being..
I think, maybe: Life
is our accumulative, tab
for all the Love
we unearth
from within, and
from those
we surrendered, our heart's
for'
thanks for introducing me
to Milan Kundera, dear poet
this is a wonderful write
jampacked with insightful wisdom
(what a great title)
The novel 'Life is Elsewhere' is beautiful. It's a very wry look at what it is to be a poet, but so full of warmth and humour
at top of my reading list - now, thank you
Interesting read , Becky 🙂 there’s a sadness within this , within your words ... it flows nicely and is well expressed
Thank you x
I was trying to express that sometimes we can obsess about not 'living enough' or compare ourselves to others and think that they have more of a life than we do. But it's not true. Life is everywhere - in both the mundane & the sublime
I agree . It’s a well thought out poem ... I like your choice of words . Life is everywhere . I guess we can always compare , I guess there’s always going to people who have more than we do .. and less ... those who are enjoying life more than us ,
I think we can’t help but compare sometimes ... when we want certain things and we see others with what we want / need
But yeah life is everywhere .
It’s an intelligent poem ) not sure I could write one like that
Ah thank you. It's not particularly original though - just some imagery that I liked. I was inspired after reading the novel xx
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