I Am One Of All Of You Poem by RIC BASTASA

it is when i listen that the grasses
begin to grow again
to make the hills and pastures
those far ones
greener than ever

and women all over
think that i am an excellent lover
hot as Mexican chili
not because of my bottom
but because of my
ears

an elephant does not look that bad
after all
and the one with the widest ears
have become
the favorite of the circus

ah, the lonely people of this world
they do not need ice cream or
coca cola
what they need are blank spaces
where they can spread their woes

the beauticians after all
have outlived the use of shrinks
women go there in those
social parlors
not to have their hairs or nails
fixed and colored
they are there for the needed talk
and the laughter

i was born to listen and i live myself
on that edgeless frames
i listen
i give more space
for guests
i open my heart
to show them that i too
knows how to bleed

and then i changed
i become one with the world
one of those stars
part of the moon's entourage
parcel of emptiness
now filled with
the meaning of purposeful
silence.