Schismed Anecdote
After Wallace Stevens’ “Earthy Anecdotes”
Every time the schizos went chattering
Over the ward
A voice muttered in the mind.
Wherever they went,
They went chattering
Until they ran
In a shuffling, teetering line
To the right,
Because of the voices.
Or until they ran
In a shuffling, teetering line
To the left,
Because of the voices.
The schizos chattered.
The voices went after them,
To the right, to the left,
And
Muttered in the mind.
Later, the voices unhinged their maw
And laughed.
Jake Bailey is a schiZotypal experientialist with published or forthcoming work in The American Journal of Poetry, Diode Poetry Journal, Palette Poetry, Tar River Poetry, and elsewhere. He lives in Illinois with his wife and their three dogs. Find him on Twitter and Instagram @SaintJakeowitz.
