It was the unexpected indifference to
My latest novel
That taught me to think about
Accolades piled high over the years
Genius hollowed out by familiarity
‘Repetitious well trodden ground’

Later, in bed, alone as usual, I had
The scrotum tightening realisation
That my work was ephemeral
Soon to be forgotten
I was of-the-moment: A moment that
Had gone

4 a.m. became an enemy
My successes grinned at me from the bookcase
Mocking the sunlit years that I’d had
There was nothing after all
I yearned for a human touch
Caressing my sacrificed body