I’d like to introduce myself
I hope I have not done so yet
For I don’t always recognize
People whom I have met
In fact, I have been known
To the features fail to know
Of intimate acquaintances
Friends since long ago
It won’t help even if you say
Your given name to me
For name’s a hardly better guide
Than faces tend to be
And that goes twice for names
Like that of the strip mall store
Or streets of nearby crossing
Where we have met before
However, if you tell me
What ’twas we talked about
I will remember perfectly
And then you will find out
Not only do I care for you
But very clearly have perceived
Your highest heights and darkest depths
Intuitively have received
If we make an appointment
To in the future meet
There is no guarantee I’ll go
The right direction on that street
That’s if I have some clarity
In passing time-sense that day won
So I that street am turning
The correct day even on
When we must use numbers
They float before my inner eyes
Adding extra zeros
Reversing selves as a surprise
In contrast, though, when words I speak
I verily specific be
More so than you may credit
When listening to me
And well-intended far beyond
A more ordinary mind
Since I find it but logical
Always to be kind
*****
The poet/editor of this website is physically disabled, and lives at a fraction of her nation’s poverty level. Contributions may be made at: https://www.gofundme.com/are-you-a-patron-of-the-arts
