It is only within the last three years that the poet has been gifted by her readers with a vehicle in which to move and take shelter.

*****

Recorded Reading (2:09): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/pxsy6bqnh3eyzzsqhofax/I-Don-t-Know-About-You.mp3?rlkey=4vy5k2ud8r7n8vi1xtk5wp4hx&dl=0

*****

I Don’t Know About You

Oh, wait…
I do!

I do because
I’ve travelled on foot
For most of my life

Mile after empathic mile
Gazing into your eyes
Then yours
And then yours

Decades of daily
Dozens and
Dozens and dozens of strangers’
Eyes

And here’s what I see:

“I’m not good enough,
Am I?

Not thin enough
Not young enough
Not smart enough
Not rich enough
Not stylish enough
Not handsome enough
Not dignified enough
Not clever enough
Not mean enough
Not enough
Not enough
Not enough?…”

In other words, what’s in those eyes
Is worry
About all the other eyes

Just about all of which
Are also worried about them

What is wrong with this picture?

What’s wrong with the picture
Is that we are constantly asking
About selves and others
What is wrong with the picture

Instead of what’s right
Authentic
Unique
Worthy
Special
Exceptional
Fascinating
About the person
Right
In front of us
Here and
Now

Who didn’t,
(Unlike much of what we look at)
When actually approached
Turn out
To be just a two dimensional
Cutout at all

*****

Arts patrons may visit http://www.UgiftABLE.com , using code #72D-31S, or choose to send a personal check to the poet’s ABLE account. It takes about two weeks for the poet to be notified of your patronage.

Until removal of the stalker/targeter/vandal/arsonist following her allows her to approach any landlord ~ even for a private parking space ~ and to begin once again to create professional connections and to rebuild her life, this poet presently lives homeless and at a fraction of her nation’s poverty level.

Thank you for supporting quality in the fine arts.