He abjures other’s
Interpretations
With a sullen shock
That they’d dare
Translate him
Into what they desired.
He was no more
Their dark whispers
Than what he claimed
For himself: each
A hurried collection
Of presumptions
And clichés reduced
To a simple tincture
Used like belladonna
To disguise his
Seductive vision
As an honest truth.
(September 11, 2017)
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