Saturday, July 13, 2024

Standing out from the crowd April 20, 2012

 

 

If I breathe too deeply, I'll bust,

 waiting in my seat in this corner f

or her to finish what she needs to do

before she goes on to do what

 she came here to do in the first place,

mingling near the door where students

get ready to shoot her picture

along with the parade of other professions

that came to do it here, too –

cops and maybe robbers,

marines and sailors,

the ROTC guy falling over himself

 to help her while the men in uniform wait,

a star among stars,

for an event in which I play observer,

 a mere nobody except somebody

who arrived, but won't leave later with her.

 Who do they think she is,

 starkly beautiful against this educational backdrop,

 all part of a drama Shakespeare might have admired,

 her carful grooming making her fit in

and yet stand out at the same time,

while I remain invisible, perhaps even to her.



email to Al Sullivan

No comments:

Post a Comment