Jones Irwin

A Story About Panero #2

Only poetry defends us. – Leopoldo Maria Panero

A psychiatric Toxicologist
Came to speak to
The toxicological Psychiatrist
As they were both treating Panero

They looked at his case notes
And seemed genuinely shocked
That the meds weren’t working

Maybe it’s worse than we imagined,
Said Ferdière in a death-like tone
Of course it is worse, said Lacan,
As this lunatic represents the limit of our science

How can a Madman write prose like this?
Panero’s existence itself is an Occultic Curse
And we are just puppets in his Universal Circus

Author Reading

About the Author

Jones Irwin teaches philosophy and education in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. He is the resident poetry critic and columnist with Red Ogre Review. His chapbooks GHOST TOWN (2022) and American Haikus (2024) were published by Moonstone Press.