Clumsily Poem by RIC BASTASA

in the middle of a shoot out
you drop
on the pavement
still
breathing

they say you are doing
nothing

inside a high end Brazilian
waffle
you sit uncomfortably
with books hanging on the roof
and on a tight chair
your butt squeezed like an
orange

when you stand up
to leave
a picture frame of her grandmother
falls and everybody who
sips coffee stops sipping and looks at you
as though
you have just killed a cat

silly and clumsy
they are indeed

i am not a public figure
not a superstar and why are they looking

i smile and then say
that the force of gravity
thanks God
is still working