Nobody knows
what’s happened to my nose
Apparently, I’m meant to know
Nobody says
‘Don’t you know
what happened to your nose?’
‘No’ I say to Nobody
‘but you know’
‘Yes’ Nobody says ‘just like you said’
‘Surely you must know too!
You don’t just lose a nose
not without knowing nothing about it.’
‘It happened a long time ago,’ I tell nobody
‘and I can’t remember anything about last week,
something I used to joke about
‘but now I know this to be true
I forget to laugh’
Nobody listens on intently
‘Maybe I fell over
A protruding proboscis
although useful is also vulnerable’
‘Vulnerable to falls’ Nobody said
‘Aye, a fall-on-face equals broken nose’
‘Sounds painful’ Nobody said
‘You never thought to get it fixed?’
I loosened my tie as I prepared to take a batter’s swing at this query
‘Well, naturally I have but a new nose never looks the same, you know?’
‘Well,’ Nobody looked interested in this point of view
‘I know what you mean, but that’s a judgment based upon
all the fixed noses you’ve noticed as having been fixed’
‘So what you are saying’ I came level with Nobody
‘is that there are noses out there that I don’t detect
as having been fixed, the job has been too good for my eye’
‘Exactly right’ Nobody gave the impression of feeling validated
‘Okay‘ I said, sounding unconvinced but nonetheless serious about considering the proposal
‘I guess it wouldn’t hurt to get a quote’
Brinkinfield 