Cannibal

Gold cherry
Poem of the week

By lavadis

Mon, 30 May 2016
  • 4022 reads
11 comments
 
 
 

 

He said he was in rehab

and that his story
was an eloquent illustration     
of the collateral damage
which flows from 
choosing the wrong parents
 
He was the manager
of 'Cannibal' a non-for-profit cafe 
situated opposite
the halfway house in Shoreditch
where he had resided 
(punctuated by sporadic relapses) 
for the past three years
 
'Don't act like you know me'
he said when I began to proffer
what passes for empathy
in the bloated mouths
of the Middle English.
Feeling suddenly disarmed 
his hands began to shake 
like bomb shelters 
on a battlefield 
and much of my latte 
which he had been holding 
spilt into the saucer
 
Our eyes entwined 
in a tenuous waltz 
as we exchanged lives momentarily.
We were both slaves to addiction 
albeit of differing hues and increments
we had strayed from the path 
and found ourselves 
beaten down, raw, attenuated.
Existence had become a muffled scream 
which formed within our mouths 
at the beginning of each day
never to be shared
 
He looked at my latte 
and set the cup 
and half full saucer 
heavily down in front of me
with 'fuck you' heavy-handedness.
 
He was a 
recovering heroin addict
with a psychotic personality disorder 
and a propensity 
for acts of random violence 
we could have been brothers 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Certificate PG
Poem
Humour

Comments

Submitted by celticman on

yeh, I like this or get it, as like seems the wrong words, as does like. I'm sure you know what I mean. 

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

This is a wonderful poem Lavadis. I've removed the photo pending your reply to my email

 

Submitted by VeraClark on

It is such a powerful poem. Pacey, gut-wrenching in its casualness and an overwhelming sense of unity and recognition 

 

Submitted by VeraClark on

Defence mechanisms, props and emotional guards. A weighty moment captured so precisely. This is our Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day.

Get a great reading recommendation every day.

 

Submitted by Sim on

So good to see you flexing those fearsome literary muscles again, Lavadis. As you actually are my brother, I'd better watch out for acts of random violence.

Sim

Submitted by seashore on

It's a yes from me. 

Submitted by Steve on

It's a f------ great poem!

 

Submitted by lavadis on

 

 

Submitted by thornwood on

I thought this was good too.

Stephen d

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

This is our Poem of the Week - Congratulations!

 

Submitted by fatboy74 on

Well deserved poem of the week, writing the opposite of fuck you heavy-handedness.