Skepticism: Five Demonstrations
By James Chapson
“We admit the apparent fact,” say they, “without admitting that it really is what it appears to be.” . . . [I]n his work On the Senses, [Timon says,] “I do not lay it down that honey is sweet, but I admit that it appears to be so.”
Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, IX.105
1.
It was a warm day, or so it seemed,
and the sea was calm, but it might have been
snowing, in reality, and the sea rising in towering waves.
2.
It had all the appearances of a criminal war,
unjustifiable on any grounds, but
it may have been necessary and honorable,
as it seemed to those who started it.
3.
In the fog-wrapped, golden city,
the young were discovering sex and drugs,
but whether this was a model of the angelic life,
or a trap set by demons, is pure speculation.
4.
Though the bomb apparently vaporized
tens of thousands of innocents, perhaps
they had merely left for a picnic on the beach.
5.
I will admit we sat beneath the willow tree,
practically in one another’s arms,
but I could not say that his lips were sweet,
only that they appeared to be so.
About the Author:
James Chapson was born in Honolulu, Hawai’i, received an MA in English/Creative Writing at San Francisco State University where he studied with John Logan, William Dickey, and James Liddy. He has published three full-length collections of poems with Arlen House, as well as a number of chapbooks from White Rabbit Press, hit & run, and Adjunct Press, and others. He taught writing at U of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for many years, and was poet laureate of Milwaukee in 2013-15.
About All Accounts:
All Accounts and Mixture is an annual online feature celebrating the work of LGBTQIA+ writers and artists. For this series, we seek work from authors who self-identify as "queer," while acknowledging that this designation is subjective and highly personal. Our goal is to provide a forum for writers whose voices might be mis- or underrepresented by the literary mainstream. Submissions are open from June 1 to July 1. Poetry, prose, visual art, reviews and interviews will all be considered. Visit Submittable for more details.