Down here

No. 6 (1951)

Up there

My eyes dart from face to face

Her’s seems to say “what’re you waiting for?”

My teacher’s softens in supportive pity

Zooming back into focus, I fix my eyes against the back wall like lasers

And begin in a shaky voice

But no one remembered

Again I’m up there

This time I’m in a 12 seat conference room

I’m speaking a bit fast

Missing a detail here and there

But better than before

After, I punish myself for my omissions

But no one remembered

Worn out by that failure

I spend Friday night with friends down here

Singing in K-Town like no one was listening

Dancing in LES like no one was watching

Loving my dearest like I’ve never been hurt before

And everyone remembered how natural my mask looked that night

For Further Reading…

• On Art as a vehicle for exploring authentic values, check out Art Art Art
• On Freedom, check out my visual poem Wilmington Free
• On an Octopus, check out my visual poem The Octopus