Six Seconds, poem by Mike Lafontaine

what do you have to say for

yourself

you say nothing

what can you say

words will either

save your relationship

or doom it

but silence

is key

you say nothing

do you have

something to say

to me

you don’t

you feel nothing

more than nothing

you feel ill

you feel like a child

wanting to be left

alone

not interrogated

you say nothing

I hate you

she says

you look at her

you smile inside

you have been

given an out

do you take it

though

will she haunt you

or could you be

without her

that’s the choice

you have and you have

exactly six seconds to

make it.

Mike Lafontaine has lived in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. He has had a lot of crappy jobs and some good ones; he seems to attract women with mental problems. He has loved and lost; lost hope and regained it. He earned a (BA) Bachelor of Arts in Drama, Writing and Performance and then a (MA) Masters Degree in Creative Writing from Macquarie University. He currently lives in Sydney, Australia with his girlfriend and their dog Lloyd.