Smaller Alligators

hey
if it is
beneath
your dignity
to wallow
in the swamp
with smaller alligators
stay away

an appearance
every other month
is patronising
at the very best
– as if to say
conceitedly

I’m here
to grace you with
my presence
though you’re hardly
worth contempt

the silent stare
and jaundiced
face expresses
dead end conversation
like you’ve really
really lost your way

now if you
stayed away
at least we’d likely
be assured that
that was accurate
© 21 July 2008, I. D. Carswell