Poetry Pleases: Moods
In this deep poem Rodney Gomersall reveals that a laughing exterior can mask inner turmoil.
A dark bird hovers around my head.
You see the shadow, but nothing’s said.
Then you say with thoughts so dark, “How sad,”
And show disapproval with a pointed remark.
I say the world is out of tilt and that our world is jerry-built,
And that our world is bound to fall like Humpty Dumpty on a wall.
This world is foolish to a fool who’ll never break the golden rule,
To never express word or thought that blunts the edge of a cutting joke.
Shakespeare knew well the art of wit
That bends the truth to reveal a lie,
But so do rogues and scoundrels all, and so do politicians.
But times are changing which changes wit.
Lies and deceit all change with it.
It’s now a communication error gone wrong.
It’s no one’s fault. The translation’s wrong.
Yet you laugh and smile to infer I’m wrong.
The rights and wrongs of all my thoughts
You set at less than empty words.
Take my hand and come with me
Down to the meadow among the trees.
The world’s too big to right today,
So I propose to laugh and play.
For anger is of little worth to risk your dissenting heart.
With silence I hide my deep-set mood.
The sun will shine, the day is long.
If night be longer, it still must come!
