Introvert at a Party
It’s not that you don’t interest me, Strange Human.
It’s that I have no notion what to say
to you. Do we have anything in common?
Are you just wishing I would go away?
I’m fearing you might ask “What do you do?”
If I say I’m a poet, there’s the risk
you might stare blankly or reply “Me too!”
One of my friends says, when in doubt just ask
questions. Fine, then. If our clan arranged
our marriage, could we make it work? (I thought
that had potential.) Have you ever changed
religions? If so, why? If not, why not?
Perhaps, like me, you’re just not in the mood
for people. I move slowly towards the food.
Gail White is a contributing editor to Light. Her latest chapbook, Paper Cuts, is reviewed here. She has devoted her life to poetry, and consequently lives in genteel poverty on the banks of Bayou Teche. Gail won the Rhina Espaillat Poetry Award from Plough for 2025.