those darn feelings

that basket on the table

is where I put my loneliness

that jar holds my sadness

some containers are for

safety pins and paper clips

and some for disappointments

my drawers are full of stuff

but here and there despair

finds a place to settle

the refrigerator is mostly food

one jar is for indecision

sometimes I forget where

a feeling has been stored

but sooner or later

it finds me

 

you say…

you say I can’t hear

as well as I should

you say I can’t see

so keen as I could

I say that I hear

the bumps in the night

I say I see ghosts

In just the right light

you say I can’t feel

can’t think

fix a meal

won’t hurry

go slow

and worry –

that’s so

you say that my mind 

has nothing to do

my memory is slow –

well, maybe that’s true

you say I’m a mess

I don’t comb my hair

I say what you say

just plain isn’t fair

for sure I still feel

I think –

I am real

It’s blurry

but true

I worry

‘bout you

 

© Diane Knight 2023

…………………

 

Diane Knight of Whalan, Minn. is an artist and poet. She is the author of Putting Down Words, a book of poems and doodles, available at Lanesboro Arts and through Amazon.

To learn more about Diane Knight, read the article The University of Diane.

 

Root River Current’s coverage of literary arts is made possible, in part, by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund.

Click below to hear Diane Knight recite her poems.