Short Vacantly Poems

She lies silently. 
Vacantly staring at 
the ceiling and plucking 
nothing out 
of nowhere.
She barely eats, she 
barely drinks, 
she barely moves.
But today is a good day.
Tomorrow she will be 
gone....

Read More

I lie crumpled at the foot of my own bed --
there are moments when I am empty,
rushing water pouring over smooth, flat stones.
I stare vacantly at the slow torrent of sky
and at the unchanging rooms of my life.
I commiserate with the moaning of the wind
and the battering of the tall grass of the plains....

Read More

A blank screen faces a writer
   Intimidating  
   All that open space
What are the writer's odds?

A blank face stares dully at the psychiatrist
   Unwavering, unblinking
   Unengaged, uncomprehending
Where does the psychiatrist even begin?

A child looks vacantly at an empty plate
   Listless, disinterested
   No expectation of food on it
   Not today, not tomorrow...

Read More

The woman smiles vacantly
waiting for the bus,
but not climbing on;
eyes lined, hair matted,
hands in moth-eaten gloves.
She talks to a photo
she grasps in her hands
of sorrows and pain of the past,
oblivious to those who stare or ignore her.
Her old knit cap covers reflections
she refuses to share as a 
refugee from a life of comfort
now at the mercy of the elements
and the law....

Read More

DRY SUMMER

On Harcourt Hill the summer grass is parched and desiccated 
All dry and flaxen neath the beating sun, its message carried
To teachers’ throats to give a thirst, a craving unabated
For College now is designated: ‘campus dry’ and arid

But when this season’s over and the sun’s becoming mellow
And classrooms echo vacantly with words select and wise
Then, temperance repealed, with soft tones as a solo cello
Some sweet and blest libations will restore, revitalise....

Read More