Tuesday Poem: The Double

Like but not like
through the eye of a lens
the distance of a gun sight
you can’t tell the difference.

There are two sets of clothes
two identical cars
the same hair-dresser.

But only one of them
must learn how to become
the other.

One goes to a restaurant
sleeps peacefully all night
with the window open.

The other lives behind
barbed wire, a coded door
uniformed guards.

One is the price
the Other has to pay.

© Kathleen Jones


This is another poem in draft - an idea I'm thinking about. Ever since I was an extra on a film set, I've been fascinated by the idea of having a double. All big film stars have them, on set as well as off, as well as pop divas such as Madonna. Apparently Kate Middleton also had a double when she was going to and fro to wedding rehearsals, traveling in identical vehicles to foil terrorists. Heads of state also have them. Who would care to be Obama's double? Does Gaddafi have one?

Apparently all writers are fascinated by doubles, the horror genre is full of Doppelgangers - and then there's Dostoevsky's novel 'The Double', and a film called 'Body Double' ...........

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