After Eating It All
Here’s how much I want
to care for someone else right
now: not at all.
I am low.
Dirt-low, boot-heel-low, snake-belly-low
and I’ll stay there.
Don’t nudge
or hound, slap me,
prod me, please.
You’ll lose a toe, a finger or hand,
an arm to the shoulder. It’s less than
I’ve lost already – self-
respect, dignity, standing
in your eyes, compassion.
But then again, it’s mine
to lose, after all.
Posted 12/15/11