We Are Not the World

Why aren’t you concentrating? You ask.

Why aren’t you listening to me?

I’m sorry, I reply – I’m too busy

thinking about the world.

But we are not the world! You say.

The world is out there. And I am here.

In here. With you.

                               I hold you close.

Through tears, I hold you close.

The world is out there. And here we are.

A world within a world.

Joshua Seigal

Clinging

In the light of dying

I cling so hard to life

that life itself is clinging.

Just as the fig tree

strangles its host until

nothing but itself remains,

I cling to nothing

but mere clinging,

my knuckles whitening,

my roots sighing.

Joshua Seigal

Pick You Up

No matter how many times you fall

I will pick you up. 

I’ll pick you up if you slip on a stone,

or if the ground turns to grease

beneath your feet. 

I’ll pick you up

If you trip over your own laces,

or even if you throw yourself down,

kicking and screaming on the ground. 

I’ll pick you up again. 

It doesn’t matter if it hurts my back,

of if you feel a bit heavy today. 

It doesn’t make a difference

if you stumble in a mess

of your own making. 

No matter how many times you fall

I will pick you up.

Just like you do for me.

Joshua Seigal

A Walk Around the Park Without My Phone

I feel for it in my pocket. 

It’s not there. 

I left if at home, just for ten minutes. 

If someone needs me

I can surely get back to them

in ten minutes time. 

But for now I’m here. 

Walking in the park without my phone. 

The wind nips my cheeks. 

I touch my pocket again. 

Slowly, I notice children, mothers, dogs. 

I see some pigeons. 

People playing chess at the outdoor cafe.

Teenagers playing basketball.

A couple picnicking. 

And no one seems to be panicking. 

Maybe this is OK. 

Maybe it’s all going to be OK. 

Or at least OK for now…

Anyhow.

Here I am, walking in the park.

Walking in the park

without my phone.

Joshua Seigal 

The Meaning

after Billy Collins 

You can beat it

you can bind it – 

it will slip and nip away

You can duff it

up and cuff it – 

it will always have its say 

You can leash it

you can lash it – 

it won’t bow to your demands 

You can whip it

try to grip it – 

it will crumble in your hands

You can preach it

you can teach it

you can reach for all it’s worth

You can trick it

from its thicket – 

it will burrow in the earth

You can grade it

and persuade it –

is it bothered what you think?

You can mark it

with a number – 

it’ll chuckle with a wink.

Joshua Seigal

Middle Name

My middle name is David, after my father’s father.

One of the only times my dad has ever cried

was at my graduation, looking up at my name

and seeing that of his own dad.

I didn’t want to go to Oxford, I went for him.

And I didn’t want to do those exams, I did them for him.

And I didn’t ask to have that name, I had it for him.

And now, as I sit and write these words,

I realise at last that I don’t care what he thinks.

He could call this poem shit and I wouldn’t care.

I step outside, feel the cool spring air.

Joshua Seigal