I came in workplaces.
That was culture,
                   an excuse,- anyone needed a person
the way the past has caused pain,
sincerely.

I’m trying to better my demons. The last
bloom put together rapists and this head.
Women regret, I hope, their trust.
Sit down, my children, for me. I want it. I've got to do it.
Trust is an overnight process. For 10 years I call more
people, I hurt all of them.

I need that anger, that attention.
I enjoy it at the same place
my President began:
$5 million, women, might,
my mom
                   o her.

T.J. SMITH is a poet and educator living in New York. Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, he studied German and Creative Writing at Princeton. He’s currently completing an MFA at NYU, where he’s the web editor of Washington Square Review. His work has appeared in Stoneboat, Pantheon Magazine, and Ilanot Review, among others. More information can be found at tj-smith.net.