A Villanelle

Hurt people hurt people, or so they say,  

And ignore the hurt from the kindly face,  

And she arrives, once more, where she once lay  

But she builds: a feeble warmth, every day,  

And sometimes falters, even falls from grace:

Hurt people hurt people, or so they say  

And sometimes, nothing seems to ever change,  

But wounds heal and scars fade without a trace,  

And she arrives, once more, where she once lay  

Begins again, once more into the fray,  

And so it goes, and grows, and now with pace.  

Hurt people hurt people, or so they say  

But her love, her hopes, her dreams, now betray  

Perhaps there is no room for her within this space  

And she arrives, once more, where she once lay  

And she yearns for her mind to disobey  

And she yearns for some safety to embrace  

Hurt people hurt people, or so they say  

When she arrives, once more, where she once lay. 

After Ezra Pound

The original:

In a Station of the Metro

The apparition of these faces in the crowd:

Petals on a wet, black bough.

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Mine:

In any Time of the Day

The apparition of these faces in the scene:

Boxes on a small, black screen. 

In a Park of the City

The apparition of these faces in the sun:

Nerf darts from a bright, toy gun. 

In a Home of the Family

The apparition of these faces in the room:

Statues, on a shelf of gloom.

In a Workplace of the Many

The apparition of these faces in the office:

Phone call voices seek solace.

In a Terminal of the Airport

The apparition of reflections in the haze:

Shadows on a cold, fading glaze.

_ _ _ _

Defies

Mess and silence

Chaos and peace

Accepts

All? 

Denies

Nothing? 

Always 

Centred 

72 hours

The set up begins

Winches, lights, action

The rising swing skims

The very border of the sky

They arrive, the throngs, 

To shriek and roar

Ready to dodgem wrongs

Feeling they can fly

The pack up is complete

Quiet, dawn, winches

Leaving imprints of feet;

An incandescent goodbye. 

Symbiotic

Space without growth

Is distance

Growth without energy

Is death

Energy without time

Is chaos

Time without you

Is empty

You without me

Is