Running For The Door

If you use the word languish

I’m stopping my read

When you speak the word nurture

 I’m far from intrigued  

If I hear you say milieu

I run for the door

Or when you spout genre

my ears to abhor

They’re chosen to impress

when the meaning is weak

Concealing the emptiness

of all that you speak

‘A labyrinth of dilettantes’ 

penning your verse

Can’t hide what is missing

— with these words you assert 

(The New Room: February, 2024)