because i was not there when you made your request
& i'm not sure it's as reasonable as you say
    you put it all out there on your sleeve
    open to the world
    open to me
    & you die, evaporate out to nothing
    your assumptions, your conceits
    your nuclear tests & defaulted loans
    all pieces of a blank jigsaw puzzle
    strewn across the dining table like the sunday paper
    (the morning edition: with the comics)
your complaints fall on deaf ears

because i was not there when you made your request
& i'm not sure it's as reasonable as you say
    you hide in security, the safety of sameness
    you ornament every element of your life
    with flashy icons, gold & green
    you enthuse, you emote
    you illuminate the unseen
    but you stop there, leaving the task undone
    & everyone knows better than to feel let down
    under the circumstances, always the circumstances
your complaints fall on deaf ears

when i see you in dreams, you wear clerical robes
& the faces of saints are tattooed on your cheeks
& they gaze up to you with reverence & hope
because that's how you drew them

but their halos are square
& their expressions are blank
& their faith is so obviously pathetic
because that's how you drew them

because i was not there when you made your request
    i can't attest to the voice you used
    what tones & inflections & what they implied
    but i can hear it in my head all the same

    & your complaints fall on absent ears


-- 7th January 1998