Have Mercy On Me (Revised) Poem by Margaret Alice Second

Introduce yourselves in French Christophe insists, this is
what good Ambassadors do! Tonight I sigh, can’t face
another introduction like ‘Hi, I am me, born here and
working here with my core family, loving my job in my
home sphere’, please, no more, have mercy on me

Can’t repeat Pollyanna phrases indefinitely; yes, I’m
where I am because I’ve never been over there – yes,
I’d like to see that world, but not at the cost of anyone
living here; yes, I’d LOVE to speak French to those in
the know instead of halting talks I might have here

But please, we need release from repeated introduction
of who we are, need fantasy to give gusto to life – don’t
make me say I’m ‘traductrice’, it drives me around the
bend, like a red cloth to a raging bull, give me leave to
tell you about my inner self with the sweet fairy inside

A beautiful palace in a fantasy land, where the DiscWorld
of Sir Terry Pratchett is as real as the map of Africa and
Australia – please don’t make me tell you repeatedly
about broccoli and cauliflower simmering on the stove,
it may make me go mad, begin frothing at the mouth,

Run off into the blackness of the Unknown Universe
where even YOUR ambassadors have never been…

16 April 2013