Ode

I was going to write a poem
about the disabling weight of inertia
pressing down the desire of well intentions
but did'nt.

Who Rides Whom

The perfect jaundiced watcher
down under the fray observes
the long cultural turn
through the easy squash and burn.

Deer in the Headlights

"YOU AMERICAN?" the MC asked me in front of a room full of celebrating Christmas diners. I stood there like a deer in the headlights waiting for the next move. Immersed in Deaf culture for the first time, I vaguely understood the question.

My first semester ASL instructor scurried up to the front to save me. They chatted. There was a signed explanation to the audience, then applause as my mind played catch-up in the event swirling around me. I was a beginner, just learning sign language, here to support the community. Or something like that.

I made my way back to my seat as my dinner partner smiled -- acknowledging my return to more familiar ground. I looked in the envelope with the door prize I had been given and glanced quickly at the pizza coupon inside. "Oh, it's Canadian", I thought to myself, still pondering the earlier query about my cultural affiliation.