What Ms. Nin Might Have Said

by Anthony Telschow
 
"But I don't give myself. That is why I can seem so human—just because I am not."
			                 - Henry Miller

"We, peeling through your stinginess,
should now what? Seek to shrive
ourselves for having more of you
than you had hoped to give?"

Disgusted with his distancing,
she thinks sal volatile
might rouse him to humanity
and set him straight awhile.

The soi-disant protectorate
unravels for a time:
Protected finds protector
disappointing, in decline.

"Sedulity in grandstanding
is thrilling when we're young,"
she said, "but really, that
is more than cold-it's also very dumb."

© 2002 by Anthony Telschow. All rights reserved.
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