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G R I S T L E

Richard Jordan

N Virginia, USA
A colleague warns her students
that you're a bad example.
She hardly knows you,
and you don't know why.
You should just forget it,
but it lingers.
It's like a piece of gristle
stuck in your teeth:
You try to brush
it loose, and it gets wedged
in deeper. You know
that if you leave it alone,
it will work its way out,
eventually. But as long as
it's there, all you want
is to chew on it a bit,
then swallow it.
Better yet--spit it out.

Richard Jordan
(Northern Virginia)


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