Always partial to life’s hubbub.
An uproar in the making.
Each din on every street.
Strange situations gone awry.
The latest tragic brouhaha—
A stir of such commotion,
It’s simply higgledy-piggledy,
Before the authorities arrive.
Yes, grant me what turmoil
Threatens the status quo.
Heap a clatter upon my plate,
Whenever it’s utterly clear,
There’s too much peace and quiet
To pass around the kitchen table,
Because ruckus and fuss
Forgot why they were summoned
As guests, in the first place.
I’m a wreck and a half,
Where silence is concerned.
Can’t gauge the empty space,
And what it has to offer,
If there’s not a racket about.
No, give me the next kerfuffle,
Or even a ballyhoo would be swell.
Just keep me occupied with noise,
Lest I turn frightfully mad.
Bart Edelman
Bart Edelman’s poetry collections include Crossing the Hackensack (Prometheus Press), Under Damaris’ Dress (Lightning Publications), The Alphabet of Love (Red Hen Press), The Gentle Man (Red Hen Press), The Last Mojito (Red Hen Press), The Geographer’s Wife (Red Hen Press), Whistling to Trick the Wind (Meadowlark Press), and This Body Is Never at Rest: New and Selected Poems 1993 – 2023 (Meadowlark Press). Most recently, he has taught in the MFA program at Antioch University, Los Angeles. His work has been anthologized in textbooks published by City Lights Books, McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall, the University of Iowa Press, Wadsworth, and others.