poems of the past months

my cousin is nearly a goddess
the kind of woman with a loud voice
and skin with a coffee-colored glow
and even though i don't know
the thoughts in her head
i'm fairly sure that when she stands up
people listen, i know i would
i've got to say her friends have access to some serious wisdom
she's going places
i can't follow, but you know
she makes me want to go places too,
speak a little louder
can you hear me now?
***************
we look down, hoping that as we
glance at pain, my eyes drawn
by a curiosity that makes me fold,
and as we look at the horror we hope in the same instant that we are not
changed.
we look at war; we do not want it to look back.

i have never been in war, but now should i say:
war has never been in me
and so i march on
***************
do you wait hours to say hello to her? do you want to protect her from everything?
finally, does she remind you who you are?
if so, the next time i wish on a dandilion, i'll wish for happiness.
***************
ce passage se trouve juste apres le depart:
ici all of you sustain one another
you see those around you everyday
naked of pretense, cloaked in fear
the most physical fear of them all
vous savez comment agir
comme je savais agir autrefois
school is not, viewed from dehors
separate from life, it is life we learn
there je me sent pris par la jalousie,
la memoire, la jalousie pour mes memoires,
mes souvenirs