pretending to read Time Magazine
1
In an agency waiting room
June 8, 2009
Sonia Sotomayor
common touch . . . uncommon story
I was actually reading it
until the tornado sirens
started blasting their hum
knee high tube socks
white with black rings at the top
I have attempted to look "young
& funky" for my three minute audition
four hour commute for three minutes
but still can't find anything better to do
baby face disguises wild card
don't you know I'm 26 years old now?
I want to shout above the sirens
finally seen, then out the door
into the supple sunshine sky
a pretty landscape
but I know rebellion
even under popsicle hues
2
I'm dizzy & my agent is calling
I think of a pinwheel of
red, white, & black
my cat white bedspread
I wish to be wrapped in
the pulsing color of my insides coming
out, the dark hair of Frank
O' Hara, the cheerful voice
continues as I feel the words
transformation & lonely
float around my body
cartoon style
the pinwheel spins
3
stomping around
piles of clothes
on my floor
in a see-through white tank
& lacy pink boy shorts
pop music is swarming around my body
but I'm still haunted
by Adrienne Rich & her Time is male
and in his cups drinks to the fair.
I'm thinking about bouncing little
girls, elderly ladies with glossy
smiles, all of them lovely
all seemingly content
calm & quiet, their contained power
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Time is male
I pace intensely against these words
as if walking around at home in my
underwear could truly make a difference
...