She is the Chalk Outline at the Murder Scene,
the shadow which precedes you and me.
She's the sea's retreat before the Tsunami,
the Silence before the Crash,
the Still before Mayhem,
the earthquake weather
before the shaking begins;
the Eye of the Hurricane.
She lives in moments
where Time is Hushed;
at the brink;
the interstices;
the river's rush,
the blue part of the flame;
the Single Hand
holding the Universe back.
And she gets away with it.
She is the one pulling
the curtain
back
at Oz,
she is the one
backing up
the one-way zone,
who seems to live
without money
because people
simply give her what she wants.
She goes to funerals of people
she doesn't know
and cries reading obituaries.
She is the uninvited wedding guest
that no one knows,
goes to hotels, uses the sauna
and the swimming pool
and never registers
or pays;
sits down
on the curb on city streets
to rest her feet;
goes to Poetry meetings
and reads
the Phone Book;
says
'I can be anyone I want to be
and then acts out that part
saying its just as satisfying
to act and dream who you want to be
at least it is the first step'
She walks against the light
if no cars are coming
leaving others at the curb,
talks in restaurants to strangers
asking them what dishes are good
and they'll give her a taste
to see what she'll like.
Laughs out loud
anywhere
Runs up and down stairs;
wears stripped socks
and short black boots
calls her mother
by her first name
always goes home for the holidays,
helps her male friends find girl friends
helps her girl friends find true love.
Sits wide legged;
reads novels out loud
on the subway;
asks strangers
to take photographs of her;
loves little children;
men gather round-
she waves
and moves on.
She once held
a Dumped Party
where everyone
got a chance
to tell
their story.
Holds pot lucks
every month
in her apartment building;
watches soap operas;
Got a good education
by attending big lecture
classes without ever registering.
Bought a cheap microphone
pretending to be a journalist
and interviewed the rich and famous
for the contacts.
Started a club for women over sixty
to help them find boyfriends;
She and her best friend read the steamy
parts of novels to each other over the phone;
flirts with ugly boys because they need love too.
Doormen love her, men love her, everyone does.
That's Katie;
Wrong all the time
Right all the time
but it doesn't seem to matter.
