
Note #31
by Heather Ann Schmidt
if the world is
s p in ni ng
and i am walking &
am away from the sun
am i (up) side
down?
if we are all different
and everyone sees different striations
in the sidewalk
and the hand of god
mixes those ideas together
is that perfect?
or my perception of what is perfect?
how long do i need to rain dance
around the capital, the t.v. stations, the jails?
its like this:
the last shall be first
&
thefirstshallbelast
it takes more
it takes more
it takes more
than broken records and skipping needles
it takes holding the hands of heroin prisoners and walking down with them the hall to the end where the door is and opening the door and walking them through and sitting with them at that bare table, that empty table and looking in maps of their eyes and being the cartographer that know where to dig the well.
dig
dig
dig
dig this
the world is (up) side (down)
and we need someone to shake the change loose.
* * * * *
Heather Ann Schmidt has taught writing at Mott Community College, ITT Technical Institute in Michigan and Southern New Hampshire University’s online program. Her poetry collection On Recalling Life Through the Eye of the Needle was released in January 2011 by Village Green Press and her latest book, Transient Angels, was published by Crisis Chronicles Press in May. Heather’s forthcoming collections include Red Hibiscus and Field Notes. Find her at http://heatherannschmidt.yolasite.com.