ON BEHALF OF THE SIMPLE ONE Poem by Ed Leeflang

Do not leave me behind in sound,
don't make me watch the images,
the days are getting shorter and the rain
will keep me long inside.

Give me those days, their things.
I am a simple girl. Talk,
let me get the plates
and dry or break the dishes
in my zeal and understand

why I repeat myself
ask the same questions endlessly
when or how soon what time
will so-and-so be back, these terrors
utilize my life
the tatters of my language.