We can work around ignorance.
We can even work around the truth.
In spite of built-in defences, admit
you’ve been abusive, and the abused
will lift the statute of limitations
on sin. Or better yet, kneel in front
of a jury of your peers: talisman;
lynch mob; lashing tail. A whip
pummelling screens until they fill
with TV snow. You can almost switch
the channel, but the mirror wall
is black light. Let me tell you more . . .
no, let me tell you that the more we talk,
the more I’m convinced I’m right.
Jim Johnstone won a CBC Poetry Prize and has published four collections of verse.
