April 2021
Bio Note: I thought April might be the right month for a slightly humorous poem, and my
favorite type of humor is that which laughs at the human condition. This poem also allows me to express
the challenge of being introverted in a world that seems to be mostly extroverted. I have published three
chapbooks, the most recent of which is Icarus: Anthropology of Addiction. I am also English language
editor for Poetry Hall: A Chinese and English Bilingual Journal.
Hair of the Dog
The best way to solve a problem? That’s right.
Just a little bit more. Take introversion. You’re
invited to a cocktail party. Surely a mistake.
Dinner at your house was always eaten on the sofa
watching reruns of Star Trek. But come time,
you pull on your best black pants and later find
yourself entering a stately Victorian on a tree-lined
street. You quail, but much to your relief you
discover a little empty room, comfy and slouched
like a bright afghan unravelling at the edges.
The perfect spot for a bit more introversion. You
settle in with a book until the hostess finds you.
Don’t sit in that chair! The dog sleeps there! By now
the party is winding down, but a woman corners you
with the technical difficulties of launching her erotica
website. Next morning you find hundreds of dog
hairs, pale and plastered to the back of your pant legs
like giant parentheses with nothing to say inside.
©2021 Sylvia Cavanaugh
Editor's Note: If this poem(s) moves you please consider writing to the
author (email address above) to tell her or him. You might say what it is about the poem that moves you. Writing to the author is what builds the community at Verse Virtual.
It is very important. -JL