don’t want to be the performer
don’t need the applause
or the silence
If I could dance my way out of lyrical words,
paint the poems, print the photos, I would
If I were a performer I would perform
But I can only write
and run, no walking away slowly
no announcement, one word at a time, placing
iambs in front of the wolfpack
If I could just lay the poem down
as if it were a baby, tiptoe off
meet you later
we’ll talk no more about the thing