We all know at least one of these.

*****

Recorded Reading (1:13): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/f3ffgavnmrauqpbf770tw/A-Nothing.mp3?rlkey=v87jkd9ahsgsnixlx00yewuum&dl=0

*****

A Nothing

In my near and far neighborhood
I do nobody any good —
No genuineness in my smile
Only the gullible beguile

My laugh is an insincere screech
I have nothing good to teach
No service do to fellowmen
Other (obviously) than

What gets me paid advantage or
Cash, or — I like even more
In people whom I must be near —
The heady rush of others’ fear

When they open up the gate
They find that I there await
Lurking like a predator
Prepared preemptive conflict for

Otherwise, they might see me
Clearly — see that all I be
Is one big source of misery
To everybody that I see

Because, you see, I am afraid
If there is no attention paid
To my instigations here
I very well might disappear

Since there is nothing of me
I can, myself, respecting see

*****

This poet presently lives at a fraction of her nation’s poverty level.

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