One Of Our Poets Is Missing (Poetry)

One of our poets is missing —
not a line from him now for a while
just to say he’s preoccupied fishing
or hunting for crocs up the Nile.

He’s just vanished — no trace of him lingers —
he’s abandoned his place on the page
what’s to do except twiddle our fingers
and wonder what rescue to stage

should he be the rare victim of kidnap —
(could a ransom demand have been made)
or some other dire fate — a strange mishap
that requires our immediate aid?

Has he wandered from lack of attention
and gone into poetic decline —
a case of severe introspection
while he wrestles with words that won’t rhyme?

For our poet’s a singular person
inclined to lose track of the days
and committed to total immersion
follows thought after thought through a maze...

Inspiration’s a sort of affliction
like flu or a touch too much sun
hence a curious growing addiction
once that free-flowing poem’s begun.

Is he trapped somewhere deep in some thicket
of synonyms — still in the game
and batting the same sticky wicket
caught fast in cruel margins of pain?

With no clear SOS to respond to
shades of mystery cling to his name —
not one clue to suggest where he’s gone to
just thin smoke from a faraway flame...