to the happy few

.

.

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

.