The Lie

How strange
that we create tales
of robots who feel

Who wonder and love
and rejoice in all the
emotions of humanity

When so many of us
plod around like automatons
hearts frozen to the cries of others
and to the cries
of their own

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Hello, Friend

Perhaps, I’m impolite

Few want to see you
cough out your life’s blood
and tell them you are
in pain

But I no longer care

For every fifty people
who ignore me
I’ll find one who lends me
a listening heart

A pair of open ears
heals a thousand
door slams.

One-Legged Stool

I’m so tired

If I complain
my frustration is met
with hostility

If I am wronged
I must not have been
understanding enough

If I suffer
I must have deserved it

In the end
I just want someone to say:
“I believe in you”
“You’ll overcome it all”
without taking faith away
when they feel like it

Drenching Rain

Umbrella-less pedestrians
Smile at each other in drenched pants and dresses
Beneath the pouring rain, strangers cluster
The tourist and the elite both under the Marriott
Students and elderly visitors in front of the Hospital
Others dance in the rain, slim bodies laughing
And the woman in the green skirt sits at the palazzo
In front of the fountain, she waits
A generous muse anticipating her artist