Can I?

Can I

 

 

 

Can I write a poem that will offend you?
Use words that repel and yet beguile you.
Can I take a peek at things taboo,
lifting the corners of your carpets?

Can I speak of secret desires?
Of urges hidden in the dark corners,
of acts that bring the hot flush of shame.
Will the guilt hurt too much?

Can I challenge your comfort?
Will you squirm and recoil then
scurry away to protect your shell
formed from your iridescent niceness?

Or should I stick to the sweet and lovely
hope filled clichés that calm the demons,
or the bittersweet heartbreak that pull
on the tears hiding at the back of your eyes?

Can I write a poem that screams with anger
at your complacent acceptance of injustice?
That wails in agony while you arrange flowers?
Will you smile sweetly and close you heart if I do?

Can I attack your icons, your myths of faith
and untouchable certainties of right and wrong?
Can your soul tolerate the penetrating light,
or is my role to distract you from this truth?

Can I write an armour-piercing poem?
One that stabs the heart of the matter.
A poem that tears away your blinkers.
Will you read it if I do, or just turn the page?

Can I?

.
Francis de Aguilar ©2015
Illustration Nick Victor


By Francis de Aguilar

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