“What day is it?” asks the man, who has been institutionalized for
30 years.
A new day
– another day –
pushes him into the vast newness,
and in the uncontrolled stream of
“don’t do that” and “do this,”
he feels that no man is an island, but every man is
a block of driftwood.
Is there an island,
a fixed spot,
a steady woman
– somewhere –
whose soft sand could serve as his weary mind’s pillow?
Paula Puolakka (1982) is a Beat poet, writer, and MA (History of Science and Ideas.) In December, Puolakka was interviewed by Fevers of the Mind. She also landed second in the writing contest held by Haloo Maaseutu (monitored by the Centre for Economic Development, Transport, and the Environment in Southwest Finland.) On 12/21/2021, her poem was published by Brave & Reckless.