Two Dan Poems
The Problem with Faces
Don't smile so much: Dan's way too busy for
a slimy soup of feelings. Dan has jobs:
He needs to focus on his backpack now
and tying shoes, or turning at the rail
because his feet don't know the way to school;
last time her faces baffled him, the feet
decided to go shopping. So no smiles -
which means no unsmiles either, 'cause they say
so many ugly, complicated things
his shoes get tied together and he's late,
which is a thing that Dan despises. And
it's worst of all, the ways eyes stick to him
instead of bouncing off politely. So
Dan doesn't look at people; he prefers
his batman backpack, because it won't change
and doesn't need explaining.
Dan Gives Up
It was a hard day: Dan has failed and failed.
It felt like floors collapsing under him -
which floors don't do, but if they're planning to
you never know. And people are like floors:
Dan has to think that they're reliable,
or he's afraid to move. It used to be
that both his parents were predictable.
But father left and first he yelled things, so
Dan clearly didn't understand the rules
that make up fathers. And now Miss Lopez
is not his teacher, nobody says why
but oh well Dan, start over. Yes, he's mad.
It's one thing to learn silly people rules
when it's like reading; alphabets don't change
but faces do. Too bad Dan, just exchange
one person for another: home or school
the faces flip like cards. Dan is afraid
of waking up tomorrow --
Kathryn Jacobs
