by Brandy Christiansen
Place commas on both sides of me
so that I may be omitted
I am just a minor detail
and to me you need not be committed.
Do I truly fit in your life story?
Or would I just be out of place?
Would you leave me out of your memoir?
Or put me in to fill some space?
Added in for extra pleasure
or just to pass the time.
You would only put me in your love poem
as long as I could help it rhyme.
You can change me to what you want
add morphemes both bound and free
I don’t need to be included
I can remain a forgotten memory.
But when it comes to nonfiction
let’s just face the facts
you only need to use me
as the object of your verbal attacks.
In a world full of similes and metaphors
using me is plain absurd
Because I only live my life between your commas
as a minor detail
an unnecessary
word.