Ryan
Despain was born in Utah, but has lived all over the world throughout
his childhood and his eight years of service in the US Army National
Guard. He enjoys the outdoors, martial arts, soccer, and has lately
acquired a deep desire to learn everything there is to know about the
equine world. He currently lives in Southern Arizona with his wife and
three children enjoying a military career as a civilian. This poem
evokes images of veterans home from war facing uncertain futures. Note
the futility in the tone, the absence of punctuation excepting the
question mark, the short phrasing, the flat demeanor of the piece. Ryan
gives us a breathing model of detached distress. It doesn’t leave us
with a smile, but it does leave us with a connection to the
disconnected.
Living day to day
By Ryan Despain
Where do I go
How do I pay
Trapped
sucked in
body sapped
Feeling sad
feeling happy
just a fad
Who am I?
Musician?
Artist?
Successful?
Addict?
Druggie?
Nobody?
Ryan,
Short and powerful. The economy of words in your poem lends itself to strong emotion. And the series of questions in the last stanza works well. “Addict? / Druggie? / Nobody?”: Beautiful.
Hi!
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What advertising can you offer? Let’s think about the environment!