IT'S A DRAG

to discover
what you're sure
is so
is so
wrong.
Brilliance
is never
so dull
as when
it shines
only upon
oneself
and all those
made-up
places.
Against
no light
it remains
black &
unenlightened.

Take dreams
for instance.
Mel Brooks
& Roman Polanski,
Woody Allen
& Ingmar Bergman
had dreams.
They also
had years
of analysis.
They also
read; they also
were genius'.
They knew dreams
had a navel
& knew
how to navigate
towards it.

It's dangerous
to go on belief
only in self
knowledge
especially
when there's nothing
tangible to hang
your hook on.
It's alright to suffer
alone,
but it's not alright
to inflict that suffering
on others
who love you.
It is one reason
the world is so full
of sadness.

I'm a teacher
by nature.
And a good one,
I believe.
I'm not, however,
an altruist.
I do have
selfish interests.
I'm most possessive
about you
& how you go about
the business
of living.
Yes, by all means
sound your depths;
and, yes, by all means
go down into it,
even if that implies
making mistakes.
I have to trust
that enough
of those mistakes
will lead you back
to me.

Norman Savage
Greenwich Village, 2015