An Unapology

[Antcliff]

It’s not an excuse.
I know.
Although it is a cause.

It’s just something you should note.
Flaws,
I have them.

Don’t we all?
It’s not an excuse.
I know.

I’m only mentioning it in passing.
A minor point.
A footnote, if you will.

I’m not making a BIG thing of it.
It’s not an excuse.
I know.

Not a full one anyway.
Not a complete one,
no.

But close. Don’t you think?
No?
Okay, it’s not an excuse.

Or, at least may not be. I mean
it's a good question whether it's a borderline excuse -
when impartially considered? Can we agree?

“Not entirely”, you say.
In fact, you're saying “No”.
Okay.

Maybe we’ve talked this through
enough by now?
All clear?

No point dragging it out,
after all.
All’s well that ends well.

What’s that? You say that
something is still missing?
Haven't I been clear?

[Ros]

Made me smile, but for me, this doesn't quite constitute a poem... (ponders why)... I suppose I'm not a fan of poems entirely in 'ordinary' dialogue-language - I prefer something more of the 'poetic' to show through. I also think poems with really short lines are even harder to pull off, and when you're using just ordinary sentences that becomes harder still.

I'm not your target audience here, as you can tell! Sorry,

Ros

[Antcliff]

Thanks, Ros

Yeh, I agree. This is an old one from the notebooks. An idea that has never quite managed to get over into the poem category.

Seth

[David Smedley]

Seth, I really enjoyed this, it's almost there for me, I could see places where the dialogue could be tightened, especially on the repetition aspect... good one...D

[Antcliff]

David,

thanks for your encouraging thoughts here.

I'll see if the repetition aspect can be worked on.

Seth

[David]

Lord Rennard speaks?

[Antcliff]

Lord Rennard speaks?

Ha! Not specifically. Although it has a certain, er, Lib-Dem quality.

seth

[Jackie]

To go sociolinguistics here, they talk about listener-dependent and speaker-dependent languages; English is supposed to be speaker-dependent, where it's up to the speaker to be explicit and say what he means.

I'd say N is speaking the wrong language, or in the wrong culture—he's (definitely a he!) appealing to the listener to get his meaning without his having to say it. The listener tries to tell him it's not working

“Not entirely”, you say.
In fact, you're saying “No”.
Okay.

but he doesn't seem to hear.

A good character in a play, no?

Jackie

[Antcliff]

he's (definitely a he!)

Ha! I think you are right, Jackie. Thank you for reading. He would be a good character in a play, but perhaps less easy to live with.

Seth