N O M A D I C C O F F E E D I A L - A - P O E T
Beginning in August 2020, this poem began appearing in random bags of Nomadic Coffee. Dial 415-484-7919 x732 to hear Dean read and talk about this poem. Best to do so with a cup of joe in hand.
SELF-PORTRAIT WITH READER
I want to begin by letting you know
that the title is no lie, even though
this poem is not quite a portrait of
reader and writer. It’s really a love
letter to the not-yet-known from the soon-
to-be-forgotten, which the author is
supposed to be, like stars on a warm June
day. But what I need to tell you is this:
wherever you are, turn to the person
sitting next to you--whether you are on
a bus, in class, in a car, in heaven --
and say, Lovely Stranger, you appear in
the last lines of a poem written to
the good and grave world. Now, what will you do?
SELF-PORTRAIT WITH READER
I want to begin by letting you know
that the title is no lie, even though
this poem is not quite a portrait of
reader and writer. It’s really a love
letter to the not-yet-known from the soon-
to-be-forgotten, which the author is
supposed to be, like stars on a warm June
day. But what I need to tell you is this:
wherever you are, turn to the person
sitting next to you--whether you are on
a bus, in class, in a car, in heaven --
and say, Lovely Stranger, you appear in
the last lines of a poem written to
the good and grave world. Now, what will you do?