A World of Men

Alan Elyshevitz

…a world without women and thus without air.
                                              — Albert Camus

Hold your breath for as long as you can
in this world of men. Accustom yourself
to labored breathing and belabored
window treatments in lieu of ventilation.

As men drink a toast to the extinct female
form, their ice cubes melt, smothering flavor.
Surgeons, admirals, and executives saturate
the atmosphere with aphorisms and asphyxia.

Since they would rather commemorate than
intervene, certain rare fish suffocate in the wild
but survive for a time in a few public fountains
into which men deposit their least useful coins.

RETURN TO POETRY INDEX >