anyone other than me
I could have been a taxi driver
picking up musicians from
Carnegie Hall
I could have been flipping a coin
dressed in zebra stripes
standing at the fifty-yard line on
Super Bowl Sunday
or just as easily stranded in Iowa City
waiting in line at Hamburg Inn No. 2
I could have been slam dunking
donuts into black coffee in
New York City like some beat cop
on Sunday morning
I could have been that priest
in the Exorcist novel
placing my hands on a child
and my faith in the Lord
I could have been a medic
or a mystic or a miracle worker
trapped inside any given war
these past thousands of years
or I could have been a starving child
looking for someone
like myself
to save me
january two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
This is great, loved listening as well
elated you think so…thank you
First poem I read on your blog and I love it!
Thank you, Tunisia – thank you for visiting and letting me know….
You’re welcome. 🙂
With my interest in refugees, I found this both moving and thought-provoking.
I wasn’t sure where this was going when first starting out…thank you Archie for visiting again and commenting….
what a wonderful poem !
So glad you think so, Bonnie!
The end really brought it home for me… we are what we are… and so many things we could do if we really wanted.
Glad you enjoyed this poem, Björn, and for sharing on Twitter.
Your poetry just keeps getting better and better. Loved this one!
Thank you very much, Beverley – so glad you enjoyed this one. 🙂
All the things you could have been. What you are, is a poet with heart! Love this.
Thank you so much, Denise.
you became a poet, best of all. love this.
thank you Denise, so glad that you do!
wow. somehow I missed the impact the first time around. (speed-reading not always a good thing!)
thank you very much, margaret