Sunday, May 27, 2007

The Wrong Man




Clearly, he was the wrong man,
not that it mattered: he fit the sketch,
and, more importantly, the plan.
An innocent, a snap to catch,

he even looked the part: the clothes
they dressed him in, the sleepless stare,
you saw him, thought, “One of those.”
But it wasn’t him. They didn’t care.

The bruises didn’t help at all,
nor did equivocal reports
from school; those who did recall
him said he was obsessed with sports,

and of course they couldn’t find a priest
who knew him from Job. His former wife
implied he was a perfect beast,
the lone stain on a faultless life,

but couldn’t bring herself to say
exactly why. The neighbors allowed,
in their particular neighborly way,
that he seemed to live under a cloud,

although he’d always been at pains
to keep to himself and had never made
unfortunate scenes in the public lanes,
he did march in his own parade.

Still, something like this
was unexpected, until you thought,
then you wondered how you missed
the signs. It’s lucky he was caught.

Of course, he was the wrong man,
had always been. He was one
who never fit, whose life began
at odds with time and place and spun

on from there without a plan;
he walked the dog and belled the cat.
But clearly, he was the wrong man,
and you do have to pay for that.

4 comments:

L.M.Noonan said...

I've noticed that you've not joined us at the writing circle? Why don't you check it out.

Unknown said...

So true, John. I suspect you are a bit of a square peg yourself.

pundy said...

Good.

S.L. Corsua said...

Ingenious rhyming poem, with an intriguing story to boot (the beginning reeled me in, instantly). The rhyme doesn't overwhelm; I much enjoyed it as it contributed to the buildup of the piece. The twist in the ending, too (and the wit there had me chuckling). ^_^

Cheers.