I am at a party and I don’t know what to say.
People are friendly. They welcome me.
They extend their hands. They smile.
Glad to meet you, they say. Glad you came.
I don’t know what to say.
You must think I’m socially awkward,
or perhaps unfriendly or ungrateful.
But you think that because I have not told you
the house where the party is being held is on fire.
I have not told you that the door knobs and windows are melting.
I have not told you that the party favors are matches and lies.
I have not told you that the wine is gasoline the color of Chardonnay.
I have not told you that the party games induce a pleasant lethargy.
I have not told you that the flames and smoke are imperceptible
to a mind busy with the world.
If I mention the ineluctable heat, I will be asked to leave.
So you can understand my dilemma,
I am at a party and I don’t know what to say.
___________________________________
ineluctable = that which cannot be escaped
I could have used the word inescapable instead of ineluctable.
It would have been readily understood and require no footnote.
But inescapable does not jar the mind. It is an idea delivered in
a familiar package. Ineluctable, on the other hand, introduces a
strange word into the poem. It adds another level of discomfort
to the already alarming ‘fire’ images.‘In-eluct-able’ not only has
meaning but also provides a sound effect, ‘eluct’ that breaks up
the flow of the line.
The poem draws us toward the question, why is this unnamed
party goer the only one who notices this ineluctable fire? What
does the party represent and why do the others choose to ignore
the obvious?