he eyes escape routes just in case he needs
more than his stealth to propel him away
from the inevitable two questions
where have you been and where are you going
which wait like snares to trap him in mistakes
of grammar and syntax when he explains
in a manner that can be understood
by those who do not live inside his skin
wiser to control the words he allows
into his world to shape the way they see
the fool he appears to be as he walks
about the space they think they share with him
safer to pretend he is one of them
while keeping his eye fixed upon the door
(August 6, 2013)
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