• Rate this poem
User Review
5 (2 votes)

Danny's Orbit at 47

written by: John Grey


Ignoring the evidence
of his birth-certificate,

he was a shy boy
with a pensive heart,

a faraway mind,
who lived a life

kept pure and young
by constant forays into wilderness,

with no-one to censure
the child-like yearnings,

passionate instincts
and intuitions,

that everyone else his age
had long since abandoned.

What befuddled psychologist
could possibly enter his essence,

pluck out text-book bullets,
replace the man who

never grew up
with a theory.

He sniffed wildflowers,
slept under the trees,

swam naked in the lake
and gave all the animals names.

It was enough that seasons changed,
the sun rose and fell.

It never occurred to him
to be understood.

John Grey

John Grey

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in That, Dunes Review, Poetry East and North Dakota Quarterly with work upcoming in Qwerty, Thin Air, Dalhousie Review and failbetter.
John Grey

Latest posts by John Grey (see all)

Read previous post:
Lines, a poem written by Melissa Ridley Elmes at Spillwords.com

Lines written by: Melissa Ridley Elmes @MRidleyElmes   don’t color outside the lines            that’s where...