Donald Sellitti

On the Danger of Poetics

Asked if he heard voices
he said yes, but only as a metaphor
for thoughts that made no sound
yet were as dogged in pursuit of
him as barking hounds.
He knew no word for something
so relentless, so he repurposed one
as poets often do.
Voices?  Yes, he heard them,
and he trusted that the poet
in the listener would understand.
But even common tropes
were too arcane for those
who worshipped certitude;
who said the voice
was in his head,
but not of his creation;
who felt the cure
was worth the risk.
He took the pill they said
would quiet him, but only heard
the voices even louder,
more insistent, urging him to
act in some important way
to let them know. So he counted
out the pills and took them
all at once.
When he awoke
the world he knew was gone
and in its place there was a box
that kept him from escaping.
Not a real one, just a metaphor
for how a failure of his poetry
had left him crippled and afraid.
He could have sworn they understood.

 

Donald Sellitti honed his writing skills as a scientist/educator at a Federal medical school in Bethesda, MD before turning to poetry following his retirement. Numerous publications in journals with titles such as Cancer Research and Oncology Letters have been followed by publications in journals with titles like The Alchemy Spoon, Better than Starbucks, and Rat’s Ass Review, which nominated him for a Pushcart Prize in 2022.