Taj Mahal Review

[Don Schaeffer]

My poem, "Citizenship Interview" was published in The Taj Mahal Review last December (2020) edition.

Citizenship Interview
And what is your address?
.
Exactly? I am in an I.
A bubble in a time that has
no number. You understand.
.
Yes.
.
I am in creaturehood,
realm of the possible,
wrapped in flesh with an outside and an in.
.
I'm writing this down.
.
I am in the needing of light
with ups and downs
stretched in myself
and the state of flowing.
.
Yes, I noticed. You have that accent.
.
Well there is a planet
do you have a name for it on your grid?
It's not heaven.
.
Yes. And what is your state of size.
.
I am in the state of weight-fulness
solidity, not floating.
Multi-moleculed and a hollow city.
I am large enough to stay anchored.
I cling to an orbit. I'm in motion
all the time, around an X, Y, Z, but that is all.
I'm in the state of you and me
mostly not alone. A structured memory
and a district of models and designs.
.
Oh that kind!
.
If you want, I can provide the numbers and names.
.
Not necessary. That's just a detail.
.
I am in a classified district and a body in a building in a room
and laying in a bed that was granted me. I barley know how.
.
Ok. I can find you.