Today was an encouraging day.
I received a standing ovation on the subway
Just for breathing.
All day long people kept coming up to me,
Complete strangers,
Shaking my hand
Congratulating me for having eyes,
For my genome,
For standing up, sitting down,
For being more or less OK.
Someone thanked me for today’s date,
I was given partial credit for the law of gravity,
For the length of things.
I was recognized for other people’s achievements,
For my mistakes,
For not having jumped off the balcony that bad night last November,
For the broken record in my brain.
After work, a delegation of citizens came out of nowhere
And gave me an award for massaging my grandchildren’s feet.
My loneliness was hailed on the front page of the Times,
CNN ran a sympathetic piece on my hatred of the president.
Mom and Dad came back from the dead
And forgave me for everything.
Dogs and cats,
Fire hydrants and trees
They too had a good word for me.
The Security Council resolution recognizing my contribution
To something or other
Was the icing on the cake.
What a day!
What an
Encouraging
Day!
-- Panama, 23 March 2005
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