a poem

subpar, but i’m out of practice.

fun house

I’m an engineer now-
capable of conversing extemporaneous
on the relative merits of
agile development, refactoring,
and whether we really should
clean up the bad smells in that code.

I, who embraced an unholy fear of offending,
convince total strangers that they made mistakes
and get paid to do so.

I spend my free time programming,
or watching science-geek shows on cable
with my husband and my dog and my computer.
I eat too much for my already round frame, and
I work out.

I, who cannot draw, publish online comics.
I, who fear the world, publish my journal.

I haven’t read a book since December,

I haven’t written a poem since 2003.

sometimes, even I don’t recognize myself.

August 10, 2005