Life's Work
(for a Beloved, albeit nameless, Mentor)

She loved my work,
but pointed out
that she'd found my hat
a Distraction.
It will take away from your reading,
your work,
your blood-soaked verse.
She told me so
in red marker
across the bottom of my page: an A
with a parenthesized aside.  A comment
for my consideration.
I thanked her and proceeded
to consider.
I could have hated her,
could have held a grudge,
could have labeled her a Has Been, could have

stopped writing;

instead, I bought a new hat,
and continue to do so whenever her name comes up
in conversation.  Each hat
more outlandish,
more ornate,
gaudier
than the last.

© 2005