"Disclosure" by Camisha L. Jones

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend Support Poem-a-Day January 3, 2020   Disclosure   Camisha L. Jones

I'm sorry, could you repeat that. I'm hard of hearing. To the cashier To the receptionist To the insistent man asking directions on the street I'm sorry, I'm hard of hearing. Could you repeat that? At the business meeting In the writing workshop On the phone to make a doctor's appointment I'm-sorry-I'm-sorry-I'm-so-sorry-I'm-hard-for-the-hearing Repeat.             Repeat. Hello, my name is Sorry To full rooms of strangers I'm hard to hear I vomit apologies everywhere They fly on bat wings towards whatever sound beckons I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry              and repeating                           and not hearing Dear (again) I regret to inform you I       am here              Copyright © 2020 by Camisha L. Jones. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on January 3, 2020, by the Academy of American Poets. About this Poem   "A person bumps into me on the street and I instinctively reply, 'I'm sorry.' Seconds later, I regret it. I notice the same compulsion towards apology as I navigate the world as a hard of hearing person. What does it mean to feel compelled in this way, to ask forgiveness over and over for interrupting other people's comfort? Through this poem, I am grappling with what's happening beneath the surface of those exchanges, the cost of all those apologies, and, ultimately, the unnamed cultural demands of the hearing world." —Camisha L. Jones   Camisha L. Jones is the author of Flare (Finishing Line Press, 2017). She is the Managing Director at Split This Rock and resides in Herndon, Virginia. Poetry by Jones   Flare  (Finishing Line Press, 2017) "On Being Told I Look Like FLOTUS, New Year's Eve Party 2014" by January Gill O'Neil "At a Deli Counter in Vermont" by Stephanie Burt "I Won't Wash the Dishes Anymore" by Cristiane Sobral January Guest Editor: Meg Day   Thanks to Meg Day, author of Last Psalm at Sea Level (Barrow Street, 2014), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month's weekdays. Read a Q&A about Day's curatorial approach and find out more about our guest editors for the year. A culture break, a source of daily renewal...   If reading Poem-a-Day has become a meaningful part of your day, please consider supporting this free series with a donation. Your gift makes publishing Poem-a-Day possible. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit poets.org   Unsubscribe here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038