Dark
That knock on the door----
Who? Why?
Why me?
Yes, I am a member.
I pay
Daily, weekly, yearly.
I’ve done nothing wrong.
I don’t sing off-key.
I don’t pretend.
Not in public.
My shutters are fastened down
None has sailed away in strong wind
I don’t use foreign words
Or a scholar’s obscurity.
I am a man of the people.
I can’t escape my people.
I understand too much,
I believe in ideals,
American ideals,
The third grade kind.
I don’t want to steal anybody’s lunch.
I want to be liked.
I want to be at peace,
like to watch clouds change shape.
Please, fist at the door,
Leave me alone.
Dan Cuddy is an editor of the Loch Raven Review. He has had poems published in many journals throughout the years.
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