Chagrined

Celebrating National Poetry Month 2015: A Poem a Day Challenge 

Poem a day #15 is a response to prompts from Poetic Asides and NaPoWriMo: 1) Write a “adjective” poem and 2) write a poem that addresses itself or some aspect of itself.

 

A recurring dream haunts
me, one where I am walking
down a busy street half
naked I can’t ever figure out
there is no memory
of when, why or where I dropped
my pants. And, I can’t figure
out how to cover up

Feelings of embarrassment,
shame tend to linger
even after I am awake
No one has to consult
a manual on dreams
to recognize more’s going on
here than fear of getting
caught with my pants down.

Who needs some fairy tale
psychology? I can admit
to my worry at being
unqualified at everything.
“Emperor Wears No Clothes”
reveals an actor playing me
no matter how much experience
I might have.

But when I delve deeper
I realize that nightmares
mean less about things
I carry dark in the inside
pocket of my kingly coat
That old bottle of chagrin
left to hang out in the back
still dangles from the hip
of my lost jeans.