The Mad Poet of the Year blog posts share the poetry of a long-time Mad Poet. This year-long appointment provides readers with a deep dive of the writer’s work and thoughts on poetry. We are thrilled to have R. G. Evans serve as the Mad Poet of the Year for 2022.
WHEN A ROOM BECOMES LONELY
by R.G. Evans
it feels its walls closing in,
the sad, steady movement of plaster
pressing around its empty-hearted air.
A room becomes lonely despite the other rooms,
their closeness no solace, their warmth uncomforting.
A lonely room is never empty,
but filled with echoes and ancient exhalations.
No one inhales inside a lonely room.
Loneliness makes a room aware of its lathe,
the bones that hold it up when it just wants to fall.
Its windows might just as well be doors,
its doors walls, its walls bereft of ceiling and floor.
When a room becomes lonely,
the house knows something is wrong,
but it has its own crowded attic to deal with,
mice in its basement, a pipe about to blow.
Q: How do you turn a Mad Poet into a glad poet?
A: Nominate his poem for the Pushcart Prize!
What better way to celebrate than to share the poem on the Mad Poets Blog? Many thanks to Heather Lang-Cassera and the editorial staff at 300 Days of Sun, the literary magazine for Nevada State College (luckily this time what happened in Vegas didn’t stay there!) and to Maria Mazziotti Gillan and Kevin Carey for providing the prompt and nourishment which inspired the poem. The room may still be lonely, but at least it knows it’s not alone.
R.G. Evans’s books include Overtipping the Ferryman (Aldrich Poetry Press Prize), The Holy Both, and Imagine Sisyphus Happy. His original songs were featured in the poetry documentaries All That Lies Between Us and Unburying Malcolm Miller, and his collection of original songs, Sweet Old Life, is available on most streaming platforms. Evans teaches creative writing at Rowan University. Website: www.rgevanswriter.com