A Cautious Listener Poem by RIC BASTASA

when i speak to you
i always keep my own eyes

sometimes when i speak to
some sort of people like you
i am afraid that after i have spoken
my eyes are no longer in their sockets
i get blinded
and then i find myself lost in the
labyrinth of our thoughts
and then i tell you that you are such
a cruel chatter
leaving me trembling with my fingers
trying to find my way back
home

and you tell me
where is home my friend? is there a home for you?
basic as what is home? depends on what home is

and then i begin to bite my nails
i shrink
a small child
asking where mom is where dad is
when house and home are gone
when the stairs are too high
when the lights are turned off and i am outside the door
when all the friends are saying their prayers with their moms
and when it begins to rain
and i have nothing to run to

and so now i am careful when you start talking to me
i touch my eyes feel my eyelashes
for a touch of home

my tongue gets twisted before
but now as careful as a cat, my tongue is a rope tied on a tree
the other end open ended
like a fork of the snake
spelling each word correctly

when you speak i listen
and i will not let you know that i do not easily believe you
i have a book in my head
and it is enough
it is good.