Not Mine

Portrait of Czeslaw Milosz
Czeslaw Milosz 1911–2004

All my life to pretend this world of theirs is mine And to know such pretending is disgraceful. But what can I do? Suppose I suddenly screamed And started to prophesy. No one would hear me. Their screens and microphones are not for that. Others like me wander the streets And talk to themselves. Sleep on benches in parks, Or on pavements in alleys. For there aren't enough prisons To lock up all the poor. I smile and keep quiet. They won't get me now. To feast with the chosen—that I do well.

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