The Professor Is Still Talking

The Professor Is Still Talking

written by: Michael A. Griffith

@AuthorMGriffith

“Consider the difference
between the words naked and nude,
or rock and stone,”
the professor says.
“or, for that matter, hug and embrace.”

Pens and pencils move,
but not all of them writing.
Minds are moving, too;
not all of them considering.

My mind moves to you, naked and nude,
and then I remember the rock
(Or was it a stone?)
that cleaved my head when I was 10,

the solid crack of pain,
the blood in my eyes

A boy whose name I don’t remember
threw that rock like a deadly Frisbee
and his teasing stopped
once he saw my blood.

All his stuttered apologies
lost within my mother’s stony embrace.

My mind moves to you.
I think of your hug as I think
of you nude, not naked.
An ache, not a pain.

I embrace you after I hug you,
after I am made naked before you.

“Embarrassed or ashamed?”

The professor is still talking.

• About
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Michael A. Griffith

Michael A. Griffith teaches at Raritan Valley and Mercer County Community Colleges in central NJ. He is the author of three chapbooks of poetry, Bloodline, Exposed, and the forthcoming New Paths to Eden. Recent works appear in Ariel Chart, Miletus Literature Review, U.S. 1 Worksheets, and The Lake. Mike lives near Princeton, NJ.

Latest posts by Michael A. Griffith (see all)

• The Hedge Witch - May 17, 2020
• The Professor Is Still Talking - August 25, 2018