Self-Portrait as Question
Walking hand-in-hand with what,
who presupposes why, and when
huddles with where before skittering
off to its murky corner. Sometimes
I present myself as a shy minute
or a cloud’s effigy streaming across
a scruffy field. Few suspect the truth.
Answers ricochet from the limestone
wall, but no one nabs them. I react
quickly and offer the unknown, the
life I claim, my name, in return.
* * *
“Self-Portrait as Question” was first published in Rue Scribe in September 2018. Many thanks to Eric Luthi and the editors at Rue Scribe for accepting this piece and several others.
“A shy minute” or “a cloud’s effigy.” Beautiful.
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Thank you, Alison.
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These lines send my thoughts skidding like tossed dice in unexpected directions – right off the table with “who presupposes why”. You’ve answered an inner query: WHY do I spend so much time camping? Clearly because of the WHO I am coupled to, camped with. (Could never have envisioned this life 20 years ago … certainly would’ve declined any such. Good that others come along to re-toss our dice, huh?)
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Oh, I know! I never pictured myself in this place in these circumstances, but my dice were re-tossed three years ago, and here I am.
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