Ennui
By: Denisa Pope
About The Poem
This poem came up during a writing exercise in December 2020, where the prompt was an object or food that we associated with lockdown. I realised I was eating more seeds and nuts than before the pandemic, and I wondered what my brain was craving for, the nutrients from these superfoods or the repetitive gesture of eating them. Or maybe both.
The Poem
Ennui
Day after day
I eat peanuts.
Locked inside, I stare
Outside.
That place is a scary place
The sky shakes fluffy balls of disease
For us to inhale
The consequences of our own actions
Floating deadly in the air.
Maybe this way
We will finally have time to reflect
Upon our deeds
And we will reconnect
With our earthly seeds.
So, I stay inside
And eat peanuts
Count peanuts
Crunch peanuts
Munch peanuts
Watch thoughts passing
On the windows of my mind
Reflecting back
Countless of peanuts
Ubiquitous peanuts
Falling down my throat
Flowing through my veins
Salty, earthy taste
These hard, crispy, little balls
They don’t fall from the sky
They sometimes fall from the cupboard
Powdering
My mind
That found this unexpected ally
In its efforts to assimilate
Reality.
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