innocent of thought cruelties
the poet examined the truth
conditions of the utterance
questioning his intentions
towards the late mr nothing
as if there was a post-mortem
carried out by a grammarian
that might have cast a shadow
of blame on him as a creator
but it was actually mr nothing
who noticed the first signs
of weariness with the role
he played in the poet’s life
the questionable repayment
of his younger self’s debts
who had to be abandoned
after all he was just a play
on words never invented
hidden pilcrow 