To Keep My Treasured Peace Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

Under pressure,
To keep my treasured peace.
But it seems irritants,
In the atmosphere...
Have been purposely released.
And I do everything to meditate them away.
With a pretending I'm not listening.
Or ignore them 'if' they should get in my way.
Yet no matter how calm my appearance is,
There will be someone who approaches...
Just to whisper close in my ear,
'You 'look' like you've got five dollars...
To give me for a cup of coffee.'

FIVE DOLLARS?
FIVE...DOLLARS?

'Ssshhh,
Calm down, man.
If you aint got it, you aint got it.
You aint got to shout my business all out,
In the streets.
If I were you I'd check out that attitude.'

Under pressure,
To keep my treasured peace.
But it seems irritants,
In the atmosphere...
Have been purposely released.
Just to test what it is I treasure.