11/15

I Don’t Make Fun of Your Coping Mechanisms

1.
I am the saddest crocodile.
Since I was young all I’ve
ever really wanted was to
be able to stick out my tongue
and touch it to my nose, the way
a little boy did once before
my mother rose from shallow water
and dragged him down to visit.

2.
And of course no one takes
me seriously about how upset
I always get about this. You’re only
crying crocodile tears, they say.
But reptiles have feelings too.
I can’t help it if I’m hungry even
as I cry, and if it looks as if my tears
are just a lure to bring you close.

3.
I suppose that you could say I eat
my feelings. Do I judge you for the way
you deal with your emotions, the strange
and sharply human way you wail, when I
rise out of the depths and show my teeth?