Poetry Magazine
Sorehead
I was arrested because of that internal memo,
and ended up in a cell, then I was told to sit
with the police and the local bigwigs.
In the hushed and fast darkening room they said
someone—someone—had reduced the safety margin
on the airport risk factor, and I got the blame.
The sky that day was a pale, clear blue, but
that was happening outside, and far away.
The cop on duty would not open the tomb
of the deported—sorry, departed—and as usual
he had a story. Every movie, he said, depends
on a script, and the narrative grows out of
market research: a set of standard deviations. Art?
What would they know? Open the tomb, and let me in.
Source: Poetry (December 2010).
Biography
John Tranter has published more than twenty books of poetry, including Urban Myths: 210 Poems (Salt Publishing, 2006) and Starlight: 150 Poems (University of Queensland Press, 2010).
Poem Categorization
SUBJECT Arts & Sciences, Poetry & Poets, Social Commentaries, History & Politics
Poetic Terms Free Verse
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