A masque of other radiates
through my profile, drawn of lines
that imitate emotions.

Draped in folds of normalcy,
a peddler of frozen words
and sweet desserts in verse,
I leave behind cold steel
in honor of the profit.

Trace my paths,
connect my destinations
in fine ink, and see
a spider web in motion
that touches scattered lives,
then moves on, unremembered.

Faces smile for my arrival
with goodbye eyes
that look beyond and through
these hello moments.

It is always nice to see me,
though never time to stay,
and I know I’m always welcome,
in part, because I always
have another place to go.

Casey Mack (2003)