Found Poetry 884

1/6/22

wants tease
always over our heads
playing keep away

we jump for them
on the way down
we twist our ankle
or neck

if we manage to touch them
they can cut or burn
if we manage to see them
they can sting or blind
if we manage to reach them
we'll just want more
like an overeating dog
all mouth, licking a dirty floor

the next want steps up
running far ahead of us
our legs splinter when we try to keep up
and knees become dust

the only thing we can do with a want
is to not want the want
leave the thought of your fingers on it untouched
it can no longer haunt, yet it will still taunt
but its loud words will become a hush
just a soft thing with its claws cut
trying to keep away from us

This poem was created from Sylvia Plath's collected works. Click here to get a book of Plath's poems.

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