.
.
Do you know who you are
.
O you forever listed
under some other heading
when you are listed at all
.
You whose addresses
when you have them
are never sold except
for another reason
something else that is
supposed to identify you
.
who carry no card
stating that you are -
what would it say you were
to someone turning it over
looking perhaps for
a date or for
anything to go by
.
you with no secret handshake
no proof of membership
no way to prove such a thing
even to yourselves
.
you without a word
of explanation
and only yourselves
as evidence
.
~ W.S. Merwin
from Present Company
photo by edmund teske
.