11.17.2009

the secret

when should i tell him that i’m only slightly human?
i tried sending him a photograph but he mistook me for a shed.

i walk around, feeling human.

maybe more miserable than most--cars are always trying to hit me.
is there a human under that pile? certainly not!

but look, i have arms. i am like a human that has arms.
i am like a human that has arms but with a face torn off by a dog

and buried under a pile of dirty laundry and litter.
but look, my heart beats outside my chest, it beats like a heart.

i have tried taking out my eyes to examine them and failed.
i have been a quiet ball of hair and teeth since before birth, i was born.

has there been a human born with no bones, or with a shovel for a face?
i am this human.

like a human i have memory and blankness.

when there is enough light in my eye i sleep and in my sleep
i am only slightly human and i give up.

15 comments:

matthew savoca said...

this is an excellent poem in my opinion

Kathryn said...

thanks matthew. this is a confessional poem.

Kathryn said...

that is not a joke either, i didn't mean that as a joke.

matthew savoca said...

kathryn, this poem is important for society.
i am a person in society, and i am saying that this poem is important for me and for other people in society too even if no one had ever read it, it would still be important

Elisa said...

if you had submitted this poem to absent I would have said, "yes!" I really like this poem. you should submit to absent.

Kat said...

i do not know you, so i cannot know if you are lying. or if your secrets are actually secrets.

but i'd like to say that i like this poem, so

i like this poem.

Kathryn said...

matthew--it is not time to be serious.

elisa--thank you. i sent it to fence this morning though. isn't that cute? when they reject i'll send it to absent. thank you!

kat--thank you, you get me.

Kathryn said...

wait, i didn't send it to fence. i only started sending it to fence and then got distracted. just now i noticed that the window was still open, and that fence is not accepting submissions. i've also been dating things "9.18.09" all day.

Elisa said...

Well it's November lady! And Fence gave you the brush off. So you should send it, and some other stuff, to Absent.

matthew savoca said...

kathy

Megan said...

i am like a human that has arms but with a face torn off by a chimp

this is a really good line.

Della Watson said...

kathy, you are the best.

Kathryn said...

you are!

Shalini Sharma said...

beautiful poem and one that touches deeply:)

Kathryn said...

thanks shalini. i like your blog.