the fading protagonist
I am the last of a dying breed
how many times have you heard such a thing
my irish-backed whiteness
and lack of an accent [due to my
american upbringing]
couldn’t make me any more
plain-janier
inkless & pierceless & without
nary a conviction
I look & sound exactly as expected
—predictably beaten
I say do not interview me
I’ve nothing interesting to add to the
conversation
I like to talk about all the times
I’ve almost died
but nobody wants to hear those
cat stories anymore
if only they had changed over the years
embellished & unbelievably heroic
perhaps they could have
transitioned into lives of their own
instead I’m the interviewer
& the interviewee
a super long list of imperious questions
going unanswered
hour after hour after hour
january two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 