I don't have much use for disguises these days.
Once I discovered that no one was paying attention,
it all got much easier. Now I cloak myself
in an air of authority, walking briskly and confidently,
always ready with the ultimate disarming device:
some version of the truth. A clipboard works, too.
In all these years of hiding in plain sight,
I've never once done time. It's all in the details.
I noisily unwrap cough drops at chamber concerts,
absentmindedly squeeze the lemons at the grocery store,
memorize the plot points of the shows I allegedly watch,
swear and pretend to have forgotten my wallet.
Yesterday, when you thought you saw me,
for a moment there I thought I saw you, too.
Exciting, wasn't it?
(Thanks to the women of Sunday Scribblings
for their continuing inspiration.)
for their continuing inspiration.)
This was a great post Shelley! I'm at a struggle for my sunday scribbling. Sometimes the prompts really challenge me but you made this look so easy and fun this week! I live in the Delaware Valley too....nice to come across a fellow blogger in the same vacinity! Happy Friday :))
ReplyDeleteJane
We all have moments when we hide under this guise. Perhaps for the sake of the guise we work so damn hard to maintain it?
ReplyDeleteCool writing. I enjoyed reading it too. This promp was a bit hard for me to write but I managed a poem.
ReplyDeletegautami
Surreptitious Self
This made me smile.
ReplyDeleteI thought this post was sooooo cool.
ReplyDeleteVery awesome writing!
Very clever post!
ReplyDeleteI love that you confess to the candy thing. We all arm ourselves with some sort of clipboard.
I have a clip board too...This was great.
ReplyDeleteClipboard, reporter's notebook, a runny-nosed kid -- all can get you by. Now, how do I read the code at the bottom? Will you send a decoder ring?
ReplyDeleteClip boards are much underrated for their utility.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, this post reminded me of the quote I heard this morning from the freshly late Kurt Vonnegaut, "I tell you, our purpose on earth is to fart around."
fantastic - loved the details!
ReplyDeleteI like the narrative voice in this piece and the details and the ending is excellent!
ReplyDeleteDear Blogfriends, thank you for your kind comments on this piece.
ReplyDeleteJane, hope you're not flooding out in this storm...
Patois, the code is the font set called "webdings"... it started out as an accident and then I decided it was in keeping with the spirit of the piece!
nuttersnotes, I've been thinking about KV, too, as I'm sure many have...