On The Apathy Of A Banal Life

The following was written for this weeks W3 linked here

All sundayfied in funeral raiment
each like wilting angels trumpets
noses down in pursuit of frolic and folly
vicissitudes of restlessness
poke from beneath the skin
startled by the suns dim-witted banality
into frenzied parodies of butterfly wings
skirting and fluttering to dashing urgencies
yet never quite with the tenacity to breach fully, the surface
and in solemenity to our trivilialities
we cut ourselves to the quick

12 thoughts on “On The Apathy Of A Banal Life

  1. writingwhatnots's avatar writingwhatnots Apr 3, 2026 / 4:00 pm

    From the first line to the last, this poem brims with potent imagery. Desperation and despondency leak out of every line, Matt. Wonderful writing.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Matt's avatar Matt Apr 5, 2026 / 4:24 pm

      Thanks. Good to know the desperate feeling comes through to readers.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. brazannemuse's avatar brazannemuse Apr 4, 2026 / 6:52 pm

    Wonderful imagery Matt, I really love ‘frenzied parodies of butterfly wings’ đź’žSuzanne

    Liked by 1 person

  3. poetisatinta's avatar poetisatinta Apr 5, 2026 / 1:28 am

    Great Matt – capturing the tension between vulnerability and self-preservation 🙌

    Liked by 1 person

    • Matt's avatar Matt Apr 5, 2026 / 4:21 pm

      Thanks. Glad it stands out to you as my best.

      Like

  4. ben Alexander's avatar ben Alexander Apr 6, 2026 / 8:13 pm

    Matt, your ending, “we cut ourselves to the quick,” lands hard for me and makes the whole poem feel more honest.

    ~David

    Liked by 2 people

    • Matt's avatar Matt Apr 6, 2026 / 10:46 pm

      Thanks. I think its a brutal truth, we hurt ourselves (or people like me do, I’m generalising) while bubbling over with desperation that makes us seek things in life, usually material goods, or maybe gossip to fill in for the hurt but the whole time we’re just hurting ourselves or prolonging the hurt.

      Liked by 1 person

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