you would have understood me
had you waited
instead of the backward shuffle
out of the room
trying not to move too fast
you heard my whisper
within the pen scratch
on the roughened paper
the letters forming a cell
where you might languish
you mistook my looks
frightening and fierce
as a cruel captor
luring you toward
the waiting pen and page
the door remains open
an invitation printed on the paper
come and let us speak together
join pen, paper, and hand
until the poem is born
Pamela Olson, 6/23/09
For
Carry on Tuesday’s prompt
“You Would Have Understood Me”
by Ernest Dowson
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