For a While

The moment starts with an imperative.
Get to the end of the day.
find your focus.
get it right.
relax.

Not much letting be to that.
Not much letting go.

What I liked about Joie the other night
at the poetry reading – she let herself go.
She knew she was not totally comfortable about that,
but she did it anyway.

I can let a little prose into a poem
without violating my aesthetic sense.

Her self-consciousness, even as she told us
intimate details of her adventure – she was a story teller –
came through as overlay, made her seem more fragile,
made the reading more intimate.

Her imperative…this was her last reading for a while.

An artistic pause... I like that.

Les