CAUSES: The Meeting

THE MEETING

 

I had arrived, I thought,

as I, in my embattled body

sat listlessly before her.

Angrily, she demanded

answers and apologies

that would not appear.

 

Instead, I laughed

(how dare I?)

and shook my head,

realizing that logic

would not prevail.

 

Accused but not shamed,

intimidated but not moved,

deciphered but not understood,

I listened as she arrogantly

tore into what she perceived

to be the truth.

 

I had arrived, I thought.

The manipulation,

the shunning,

the amateurish analysis

had not affected my ability

to see clearly.

 

The dying don’t lose arguments.

They ignore them.

 

Beth Good--1986