At six o’clock, I wake,
And plod down to the kitchen table
In time to greet the sun,
And hear the news on cable
But focus on my sugar flakes;
I don’t watch it none.

At eight, I hit the tees—
I’m done faster without a foursome—
And watch the wheeling hawks—
At times, the game is boresome—
And leave the club at ten oh three,
In time for business talks.

At three, I call my mom,
Who asks keenly about my meetings;
I don’t have much to say.
She wants to know I’m eating;
I tell her yes to keep her calm.
We do this every day.

At six I disconnect
And meet friends at my favorite diner
And drink a single glass.
At eight, in my recliner,
I grab my clicker to select
The way the time will pass.

By nine, I’m back in bed,
My teeth brushed and my body showered.
The bed is soft and deep,
My screens unplugged, unpowered.
The pillow yields beneath my head.
At four, I fall asleep.

*****

Narcisse Tardif writes: “I watch some crime documentaries here and there, and I’m struck whenever the murderer or would-be murderer just seems like a normal person. I wanted to use my poem to explore what life could be like for a “normal-person” murderer who got away with it. OJ was a big inspiration, but the poem is not meant to just be a retelling of the OJ story.

“The form is an ad hoc invention. I liked the double stress of “plod down” because of its evocative nature, so I built the second line around that, using a trochaic substitution in the second foot of each second line. The rest of the form is meant to be somewhat conversational, mimicking the ebb and flow of daily life, with some variation here and there, but the repetition of the exact form in every stanza still leaves enough sameness to evoke routine. I don’t know whether you have a policy regarding overexplaining poems on your blog, but the line about drinking a single glass is supposed to be a hint, as well as the more obvious sleepless night. On a more subtle note, the complete absence of a romantic partner is a bit of subtext throughout the whole poem.”

‘Acquitted on All Charges’ was previously posted in Substack: https://substack.com/@narcissetardif

Narcisse Tardif self-describes as “Poet grappling with the ironies and incongruities of heartbreak, religion, meditation, and mortality. I write mostly in English, but also in French and sometimes other languages. First person ≠ autobiographical.”

“Freedom” by Josef Grunig is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.