“Speech”

By Dominik Slusarczyk

Speech

You say something.
They laugh at you.
You decide to
Stay silent for the rest of your wretched life.
Your wife immediately objects but
You ignore her insistent wailing.
Your children beg you to
Play with them but you
Stare past them to the TV.
You start to smile more.
The world doesn’t seem so dark, so dreary.
You die with the word
Kiss on your lips.

Dominik Slusarczyk is an artist who makes everything from music to painting. His poetry has been published in various literary magazines including Fresh Words and Berlin Lit. His poetry was long listed in the VOLE Books Summer Competition 2023 and was a finalist in the Flying South Contest 2023.