Somebody is watching / poem by John Grey

SOMEBODY IS WATCHING 

Somebody is Watching

It could be the entire population

of Kansas City, Missouri.

Or even that poetry magazine,

from where I dropped it on the floor.

I hope it’s not the Mafia.

Or anyone called Oswald.

If it was a wildflower

that wouldn’t bother me 

but what would be its motives?

But then again it might be 

George Washington

from his gravesite in Mount Vernon.

I fear it could be ex-wives.

Or angry truck drivers.

Can you imagine what a broken heart 

would look like if it had eyes?

Well, I do that all the time.

In fact, I’ve seen eyes in piano keys,

road signs, factory walls, beer bottles,

wood piles, dumped cars  

and the backs of photographs.

No need to tell you who 

they were staring at.

If I could only elude the gaze

of fire hydrants, shop windows,

symphony orchestras and car radios.

If I could go about unnoticed…

but how can that be when there 

are dishwashers, squirrels

and hunting rifles in this world.

The problem is not that  

I stand out more than other people.

But that there are other people.

And they’re always looking my way. 

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in New World Writing, North Dakota Quarterly and Lost Pilots. Latest books, ”Between Two Fires”, “Covert” and “Memory Outside The Head” are available through Amazon. Work upcoming in California Quarterly, Birmingham Arts Journal, La Presa and Shot Glass Journal