An Indelible Mark

***

that moment when

the image in the mirror

ain't the image in your head

and left wondering

where it all went

***

Workplace Violence

*** 

already at my rope's end

throw me a root, throw me a twig

holding on to what i've got while i've got

never heard nothing i ain't forgot about

*** 

safety and security

***

nobody asks 

the shadow why

it feels free to walk

home at night

there are the hunters

and the hunted

and those of us who try

to stay out their way

***

family values

***

la familia gathers

dressed Sunday best

down the street from

the most famous churches

of a city famous

for whites burning them 

drinking

cuban coffee, and listening

to latin dance music

barely after noon

shouting
to the Miami game
that plays by the corner bar

eating

the most traditional dish

the chef says, like 

turkey stuffing for Thanksgiving

which is next week

and my grandmother 

who may not be

next week

she waits for me 

in the city

too busy to hate

***

the quiet life

--- 

i really live a quiet life

i tell myself that my dream

is to tell you about myself

self-expression

is the gate and the key

the reason and the rhyme

but in truth

i don't want to have to explain

i want you

to see me without saying

words which

so often are so not enough

and so much work

i really live a quiet life

and i have so much trouble telling

you what you need to know

i think i think

i can provide the map 

without the key

and leave you guessing

pointing to all my x's and tracing

them to me

oh, if only then you would

but such thinking

hasn't helped me

now i'm wondering

if i'm just floating

off at sea

--- 

I Know How You Feel

--- 

i know how

the ant lives

to feel powerless

and small

some days, 

and others

lift a thousand

times my weight

and have others watching

and wondering if they wonder

why i am not always strong

---

Mid-day Reverie

--- 

i'm chasing down a reverie

something like 

a memory of

who i was

when i was younger and knew

who i was

---