Thomas Wells Poet Free verse

How I Look

I see how I look inside out,
not how I look outside in.
My Amtrak races between mountains 
and rivers, my traces, my inner spaces,
my dawnings, my inner longings.

I see how I look inside out,
not how I look outside in.
I leaf through fading pages
of crumbling books bound
with passion strings,
broken by wounded fissures
of regret. 

I see how I look inside out,
not how I look outside in.
Others declare me a man or fool,
perhaps the father they never knew,
perhaps the boss who fired them,
or just the impostor they always hated.

I see how I look inside out,
not how I look outside in.
I slowly abandon their puzzling 
projectiles, their momentary mocks.
Such a child am I, even the petals
of new love go unseen.

I see how I look inside out,
not how I look outside in.
I take the long way alone,
my feet heavy with clay,
I wander the deep gloam,
my mortal vessel, my only home.
There is luminous grass beyond.
There I will rest my head in 
the resplendence and comprehend
that inside and outside 
                      are just a revolving door.

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Karen Jones February 12, 2025 at 11:04 PM Wonderful writing! You had me engaged and inspired to look within! Thomas Wells February 17, 2025 at 2:48 PM I am so glad the poem spoke to you, Karen! I spend a lot of time looking within. Sometimes I am surprised at how different others see me. Take care, and keep writing! :-)

Brian Sambourne January 25, 2025 at 7:36 PM Grand introspective writing, Thomas. So true about how we perceive ourselves - we look from our inner workings to the outside. We feel we have some sense of things knowable. How the outside world perceives us, a conundrum. But when we rest our heads for the last time, it all meshes together. Thoughtful writing. Thank you for the posting. Thomas Wells January 29, 2025 at 11:41 PM I thank you for your insights about this poem. The refrain repeated in the poem was just a casual aside I muttered with some friends. I wanted to see where it took me by writing a poem around it. Pax! TW