A Poem in Response to the Twelve Questions

1.
I
Am an entity
With spaces, and shapes
Different from the boy I
Do.

2.
I
Came from a
Dark place:
Water
And silence.
Arrived and
Looked around.
I cried
When he gave me
A shot.

3.
I do not know.

4.
I hope to figure this out.

5.
Outside
I am curves
And slight dimples.
Soft.
Juxtaposed.

6.
Mother cries
Because father died.

7.
My second mother
My second home.
She sleeps
Because we are mean to her.
She doesn’t mind.
We will pay the price eventually.

8.
Frantically
I do nothing.

9.
Elizabeth fell
Off the swing.
Shock across her face.
Tears in my eyes.
I see her left arm,

10.
Hands
Of Strong stature.
I wake up.
They find their way
To me.

11.
I will
Continue to
Do what I am doing
Right now.

12.
Everything
And nothing.

–Jessica Schwab, from Art of the Engaged Writer: Writing 1 Seminar at Naropa.