Thinking Small

“The more specific your story, the more universal the message.” I’m not sure who said that first, but it is one of those truisms that keeps me revising and revising — always for more detail.

In lots of areas we are told to THINK BIG and THE SKY’S THE LIMIT, but in poetry we think small. So, I don’t know if this poem makes me the most poetical person on the planet, or just plain small. Just one more little thing to keep me…scratching.

Thinking Small

The careless shoulder shrug.
Throat tickles in the night.
The eyes that drift astray.
A shadow standing in my light.
Friends playing games instead of talking.
Forks scraped between closed teeth.
Fake smiles,
clothes in piles.
Unmatched socks,
ticking clocks.
Searching for lost keys.
Little things that make my teeth itch.
Metaphoric fleas.