“Simpleton Charade”

Puffing perfect ellipses of smoke,

Coalescing into the chasm of clouds,

The group of belittled businessmen shifted their eyes,

As I caught sight of the passing sea.

I saw what was left.

I am molasses and

I cannot pull myself together to swim.

Voice bubbles

Escaped my cages

But the sea silences all screams.

And I thought to myself how pleasant it would be to live a simple life.

Would I be a fool for being a simpleton?

It dawned on me,

Like learning the letter I is the only thing you will ever own,

That there is a fantastic egotism in it;

You own [everything] and that means nothing.

The pendulum snapped,

And I turned to see devoted businessmen,

Simple and drab,

Pining for my next advance.

Now I see what they mean by shifting eyes;

Being dark is riveting.