Monday, January 13, 2014

The art of being invisible

It would take a seeker
to go as far as two blocks
away from the ghouls
searching up tree tops
and in the shadows,
under rocks and
among the flowers
in the neighbors' gardens
to find me when I was a kid.

When I was a kid
I learned the art of
being invisible
from a shinobi
in a dream after
kung fu movie night
with my father.

I used to practice it hard
in hide-and-seek with friends,
walking to school by myself,
being around strangers.

Since then and to this day
I walk among the crowds of people
and they can't see me.

No one can.
Like riding a bike,
hiding
is something you
never forget.

I've become a pro
at being invisible.

(Posted to the Toads)

11 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous1/13/2014

    Very poignant! Everyone should be seen by someone...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous1/13/2014

    and, perhaps, why you've become a crooked poet. and the rest of us, too. really like this piece ~

    ReplyDelete
  4. You can't see the invisible and unless you are invisible yourself. This works to the heart of self and others, to both childhood and ultimate place.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This takes a childhood survival tactic and turns it into something metaphoric and psychological. I really like the way you wrapped the whole idea up in the final stanza.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This touches my heart in a haunting way… I too feel invisible much of the time.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Invisibility is a thing whose novelty would wear off, I think.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I so relate to this... I have traveled to literally a thousand places and many of them no one knew I was there...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Kenia....I remember oftentimes feeling invisible as well. Sometimes I feel the most invisible with hordes of people around...parties for example, surrounded by people I don't know well & who don't make eye contact. Your poem resonates.

    ReplyDelete
  10. …this led me down an interesting road to ponder. For observation purposes, being "invisible" is nice. I took a road trip by myself a while back, saw some historic places - it was nice and calming, I thought.

    ReplyDelete