FOUR FEATHERS PRESS ONLINE EDITION: POINTS AND LINES Send up to three poems on the subject of or at least mentioning the words point and/or line, totaling up to 150 lines in length, in the body of an email message or attached in a Word file to donkingfishercampbell@gmail.com by 11:59 PM PST on November 17th. No PDF's please. Color artwork is also desired. Please send in JPG form. No late submissions accepted. Poets and artists published in Four Feathers Press Online Edition: Points and Lines will be published online and will be invited to read at the Saturday Afternoon Poetry Zoom meeting on Saturday, November 18th between 3 and 5 pm PST.

Thursday, November 16, 2023

Jim Babwe

Forward


You see a tightrope

where I see a bridge

and this difference of perception

should not make us enemies,

but if you choose

fear over courage

do not be surprised

when I take no tentative steps

because enthusiasm

is better fuel than fear.


Maybe delusion blinds me

to potential consequences,

but I'm old enough to mean it

when I tell you I don't care

if you think I'm a fool.


You see a tightrope

where I see a bridge

and this difference of perception

provides me with opportunities

to meet the most interesting travelers

who may not know exactly

where they are going

or exactly how

they plan to get there,

but these are the people

who refuse to calculate asset ratios

and interest rates

while they buy gum.


Sit and giggle and point

between snide remarks

with other lazy spectators

when you see me

lose my balance and fall,

but watch me

rise to my feet,

make confident strides

to try again--

always forward.


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