ON ALL THE DIFFERENT WAYS TO BE HUNGRY
by Michelle Awad
My front porch
might as well be
Heaven’s Gate, might
as well be a rain forest,
might as well be
a coliseum, an alter,
a library.
A man
walks by
on the sidewalk,
I make eye contact,
and wave, he asks me,
if I have a few dollars
or some change, he
calls me
ma’am, and
I say, no, I’m sorry.
The no is a lie.
The sorry is only
a
half-lie, as sorries
often
are, he waves and
continues on his way,
I notice his sport coat,
his dark-wash jeans,
he’s a little scruffy of
face, but otherwise
he
does not look
to be wanting,
but
what does that mean,
in the grand scheme
of things, I think.
I don’t look
like I cried myself
to sleep.
Mar 28, 2020
Mar 28, 2020 at 3:29 PM UTC
ON ALL THE DIFFERENT WAYS TO BE HUNGRY
by Michelle Awad
My front porch
might as well be
Heaven’s Gate, might
as well be a rain forest,
might as well be
a coliseum, an alter,
a library.
A man
walks by
on the sidewalk,
I make eye contact,
and wave, he asks me,
if I have a few dollars
or some change, he
calls me
ma’am, and
I say, no, I’m sorry.
The no is a lie.
The sorry is only
a
half-lie, as sorries
often
are, he waves and
continues on his way,
I notice his sport coat,
his dark-wash jeans,
he’s a little scruffy of
face, but otherwise
he
does not look
to be wanting,
but
what does that mean,
in the grand scheme
of things, I think.
I don’t look
like I cried myself
to sleep.