Tag: death

Window shopping with the familiar stranger

Published on by Maciej ModzelewskiLeave a comment

Like a stranger
who shows you a little kindness,
the chess master of Täby strolls with you
amongst the mannen
in a tournament where every game
is one too many,
and the only name allowed
is Cartaphilus.

But as you walk
through the granite burg—
never sure
if the next cross street you turn onto
is a boulevard or a cul-de-sac,
yet feeling compelled to step forward,
even when in zugzwang—
you realise you’ve missed
the difference between a shop window
and a mirror.

More words to ponder at maciejmodzelewski.com

A space filler

Published on by Maciej ModzelewskiLeave a comment

What was the last thing you remember
before you died? I was signing my book,
but I can’t recall if it was as MacCallus
or Modzelewski. It doesn’t matter—
they’re both equally ridiculous—
just like signing a book
I never published.

More words to ponder at maciejmodzelewski.com

Mon Dieu!

Published on by Maciej ModzelewskiLeave a comment

With every line a liability—
and Ea von Allesch out of reach—
I can’t leave my expectations
at the mercy of the em dash.

And while I can always hang a thousand words
celebrating the forlornly sought-after mortality
of Death itself
on the wall,
there’s no need to be overly dramatic—

everyone deserves a postmortem, after all,
even the slightly hysterical.
Isn’t that what a pied-à-terre is for?

Perhaps.

Unless you make it your living
room.

More words to ponder at maciejmodzelewski.com

The perfect end

Published on by Maciej Modzelewski4 Comments

How convenient would it be to live in a cottage
next to a cemetery? After all, unfit for all those ghastly
conventionalities of days of yore as you are, it’s your choice
what matters to you, so you should never deny yourself
the simple pleasure of inadequacy just because a bench plaque
would be the only befitting abridgement of your meagre existence
after wandering through life at the speed of the alphabet.

The humble life of mine

Published on by Maciej ModzelewskiLeave a comment

I’ve come to the conclusion that slowly dying is too demanding a job
to make room for other pointless pursuits, like memorising new words
or ever-so-slightly changing faces, which of course leaves me no choice
but to outsource all the embellishments that are commonly considered
life’s essential ingredients—though it’s not as if I don’t appreciate
an occasional reminder that the regrets we draw from the callow years
are not what stimulate our due desires—and embrace the humble life
of an urban hermit with somewhat perverted interest in death.

In pursuit of the reader

Published on by Maciej Modzelewski2 Comments

Even the smallest gap in the curtains
might find its peeping Tom—so there is always hope
for the closet poet—yet finding readers proves no easy feat
for the wordsmith in disguise, who has learnt the difference
between epistemology and epistolography
but has never managed to navigate
the intricacies of the modern sock drawer
(as he sees the algorithm-driven blogosphere realm).

Perhaps a premature demise is the answer,
although it only works when real,
as we know from Ms. Meachen’s story.
Besides, the fame gained in this way
is of no consequence to the person concerned,
regardless of whether there is life after death or not.
After all, there is no fun in bidding against others
when the only currency you have is the obol.