Out of Context
I perfect the fake
half-smile disguise
buying a minute —
to recall if I know your
name or you just look
like someone whose name
I know begins with M, or maybe Z?
or where I should know you from . . .
Soon I add the nodding
non-committal ear
accepting our intimacy
on clues from your soliloquy
like some Shakespearean
audience rapt in the mystery
clueless to the end —
–Joan Cormier
Joan Cormier works at Brookens Library at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
She wrote her master’s thesis on Emily Dickinson.
April is National Poetry Month. WQNA (FM 88.3) is airing a series of half-hour
poetry specials produced by the Modern Language Association. Tune in at 9 a.m.
or 12:30 p.m. today, April 8, to hear Contemporary Language Poetry. On
April 9, Favorite Poems will be broadcast at 9 a.m. and Love Poetry
will air at 12:30 p.m.
People’s Poetry accepts poems on any subject, but ones that deal with issues
of local interest are encouraged. Send yours to Books and Poetry Editor Corrine
Frisch c/o Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705, or to
cfrisch@illinoistimes.com with
“People’s Poetry” in the subject line.
This article appears in Apr 8-14, 2004.
