Facing the other way

shame we face the other way
by David Hanlon

I feel ashamed
of how little
I know

about current events,
I know the basics, scratch
the surface,

but mostly avoid
knowledge of pain
so staggering,

so global, it’s tough to
hold the weight of,
but to hold

the pain itself,
I can’t even begin
to imagine—

and there it is, shame,

and so, I delve into
the constant creating
of my own
screen-world identity,

connecting with others
through shared
self-serving pursuits,
shame—

I’ve noticed lately how often
we put ourselves down for crying,
call ourselves stupid
or say that, before this,
these tears,

we had been doing so well.


David Hanlon is from Cardiff, Wales, and currently living in Bristol, England. He is training part-time as a counsellor/therapist. You can find his work online in Dirty Paws Poetry Review, Into The Void, Impossible Archetype, Boston Accent Lit, Riggwelter Press & The Rising Phoenix Review, among others.

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