Worth Paying Attention To

It is the interruptions that make it interesting.
The unexplained post that breaks up sand and sea.
The splash of color in a grey state.
That one note, whether off key or pure and perfect.
The things that stand out.
Make you pay attention. Force you to
turn off autopilot for a moment and really look.
Listen. Twist your head a little and
think.
Otherwise, it is merely pretty,
which is, let’s face it, an insipid word
even if it is true.
So, give me the interruptions,
the sights that jar perfection,
Scars and skin tags, the wrinkles,
eyes that are slightly different colors,
The misfit. the creative,
something, anything worth
paying attention to.

About this poem

Inspired by my looking around at the people in the last diner standing this morning. Not a perfect bunch, but oh so interesting. By my looking in the mirror. A poem about scenery, about life, about people. Poetry is never about one thing.

The picture was taken on Marconi Beach on Cape Cod. I probably took 50 pictures that day and this one, with its lone surviving post, is the one that is most interesting.

Tom