Jim Carpenter | + Follow Poet |
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The Little Room Within

‘Twas damp, cold and lonely - not much bigger than a closet.
But the little room within me is mine.
It has no niceties such as a bed chamber but
To one side – when pressed upon hard enough –
My walls will open revealing many hidden chambers inside.
But my walls have no doors and until now no one has ever
Stayed long enough to find out the secrets hidden inside.

Then you came along – you who had scarce warmed
Yourself against my thoughts when I saw that look.
You spun around and around in the small wit that I am,
A more perplexed look I had never seen.
I pressed upon you to sit here within my warmest of thoughts.
The case of your look was the case all by itself.
All I could feel was your resentment for bringing you in.

My hard planked thoughts and plastered breaths were not 
Favorable - even to my own sensations – as if I were trapped
In some sort of desolate omnipotence – 
But I dared not to mention my little hidden room within.
Though not a thing had been left to be wished there was nothing
As terrible in it as the knowledge that you thought I was possibly
Absent of the capacity to supply you with your inner most basic needs.

The glow of health and happiness had somehow left your cheeks
And your brisk lively conversation seemed forever removed.
Like a stone in the road, I seemed to bring you
More distress and I wondered what stupidity had led me
To bring you here to fumble around in my mind.
As if we were both too delicate to communicate 
Our tangled tongues said not a word.

I wanted to say,
“Please, please press harder against these walls 
And you’ll see, you’ll see that the muscle and tendon
That covers these internal walls are 
Just a parody for my own protection.
I made the mistake of moving this thought closer to you.
At first you squirmed to get further away from it 
But in doing so you had to push against me.
One single piece of paper fell from shirt pocket.

You snatched it up an unfolded it and
Proceeded to open my imagination to a wrinkle entitled
“The Little Room Within.”
I watched you as you read peering through my façade. 
You then proceeded to pull out another wrinkle
Then another - and another
Until the room within me was no more.
You entered deeper and deeper into me 
On your hands and knees –

– And I –

I 
followed 
you 
all
the 
way 
to 
the
inside 
of 
me.

Copyright © Jim Carpenter | Year Posted 2014

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