by Eric Chaet
I imagine I have an audience
tho many times it seems no one is paying attention to me
& many times it seems to me I have nothing of value to tell anyone
& I’m tempted just to distill some of others’ cleverness
& pass it along as my own
so that people will tell me how wonderful I am
tho I’d be just a moon reflecting some sun’s light.
But I imagine I have an audience.
I imagine that what I am saying will have effects
good or bad, wise or unwise, trivial or profound.
I imagine I have an audience
composed of people a lot or a little like I am & have been & will be
& also very or a little different from who I am & have been & will be.
I imagine I have an audience who judge for themselves
what is useful, what not, of what I say
what is completely correct, partially correct, or false, or foolish
who discard this, incorporate that, for use
as I have figured it out & expressed it
or modified, customized for their own use
as a result of which they survive, thrive, achieve
with more or less frustration, suffering, grace
or actual or apparent failure, or false or true success.
I imagine that they’ll have a powerful effect
on the agenda & destiny of the human species.
I imagine I have an audience.
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