Pause For Poetry:
Michael Hawkes /97
A Reality Check
December 5, 2025
A poem by Michael Hawkes
Reality’s painful, or else it’s delightful,
anything other we tend to ignore.
When it’s unpleasant it really is frightful,
when checking the facts doesn’t help anymore,
‘tho when it concurs with the mood of the moment
we all want to buy it and keep some in store.
But because it’s an abstract intangible notion
it gets all mixed up with thought and emotion
and then comes to rest as a knot in one’s core,
there to be loosened or pulled on and tightened
leaving one strangled, entangled, or vaguely enlightened,
but not any closer to knowing the score.
02/09/22
Feature image: Ahmed Akacha – Pexels
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Michael Hawkes was a cherished poet and contributor whose work enriched the pages of WestmountMag.ca with its sensitivity and depth. Over the years, he entrusted us with a rich body of poems, of which only a portion has yet been published. His passing leaves a profound void, but the poems still to come will continue inspire all who were moved by his voice.
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