And it’s true my family
Seem to say that they won’t even pray
Long as I stay
Unmedicated in this town;
And it’s true that I lost my last job
Suddenly, without explanation;
And it’s true that just a few years ago
I put myself through a Master’s program
For which I still must pay;
And it’s true I filled out
Forty-three applications for minimum wage work
Just in one week
So, I’m thinking going professional is the way;
And it’s true that my one nefarious reference
Told me that no employer bothered to call;
And it’s true that I didn’t pursue
The job down the street
He hinted at to keep me at bay
During the latest veiled threat;
And it’s true that his first direct threat
Happened just four months ago
Before I ran for the border
Before the police stopped me
Then tracked me to put me away.
And it’s true I hadn’t committed a crime
And it’s true that at least when I arrived
At the mall at ten thirty on a week day
That there were ten other derelict types
Looking just like me,
Soaking wet along the mall awnings;
And it’s true some of us once were
Drug smugglers, pimps, and other business types
And it’s true that our daily suffering
Or desperate need to run away
Got up caught up in institutions
And led us into catastrophic loss;
And it’s true that I locked my bike twice
Before I left it
And it’s true that I took a Greyhound
From another middle of nowhere stay
Just to try to get away;
And it’s true that every middle of nowhere
Ends up being the middle of everywhere
Wherever I stray!
And it’s true that after I leave the mall
My latest locked bicycle
Will be missing from its space.
And it’s true the police
Will refuse to file a report
Citing coincidence as the likely play;
And it’s true I will look strange on the bus
Shivering, back hurting too much to remove
The incriminating garb.
And it’s true that I will decide to rent a car
To drive dry to pick up the suit
And to get to the interview on Friday;
As it will also be true
That the interview will be cancelled;
As it will also be true
That you will never see me again;
As will also be true
That I will get a call the minute I get home
From my father
Informing me that my suit is now on the way.
But I am only going to tell you
The truth that really matters:
That is,
I have taken off
The plastic hat and the trash bag
And that I am asking you to size me up
Praying that you are not noticing
That my jeans are wet,
Praying,
That when you are measuring my arms
For the suit,
That you aren’t noticing
That the dye from my boots
Has bled onto my sweat socks;
And I’ll be praying that you believe me
When I tell you
That I will be spending my holiday
With my sister
Who lives down on G street,
Praying that I will be
Just another stranger
Walking through
The shadow of your day,
Praying that you will not
Take advantage of my situation
And charge me extra money
Or ensure that I get robbed
In some other way
In the end, maybe you will never know
How important it is
That I get to an interview
As soon as I can
And I mean today!
