J. J. Steinfeld | INTERROGATION

The task at hand,
the questioner mumbled,
is to ascertain the moment 
of when untruth becomes
truth
of when truth becomes
subservient.

Subservient to what?
you wonder,
but the secret room is cold
and you are already tired
from answering questions.

Questions like the blades
of a vindictive windmill
on a day of fierce winds,
you think,
and resolve then and there
not to answer anything
even Do you fear dying?


Poet/fiction writer/playwright J.J. Steinfeld lives on Prince Edward Island, where he is patiently waiting for Godot’s arrival and a phone call from Kafka. While waiting, he has published 24 books, including A Visit to the Kafka Café (Poetry/Ekstasis Editions/2018), Gregor Samsa Was Never in The Beatles (Stories/Ekstasis Editions/2019), Morning Bafflement and Timeless Puzzlement (Poetry/Ekstasis Editions/2020), Somewhat Absurd, Somehow Existential (Poetry/Guernica Editions/2021), Acting on the Island (Stories/Pottersfield Press/2022), and As You Continue to Wait (Poetry/Ekstasis Editions/2022).