Are you a thug
Which way do you want me to answer
I’m just trying to get to my car
Why approach me thus with questions

Do I affiliate with thuggery
Not that I know of
I’m not even sure what the word means
Why don’t you explain it to me

Everything’s a judgment call
Is this a neutral encounter
Or a street hassle
Or perhaps a confrontation with madness

And which of us is mad
Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself
I know myself to be other than
The picture of mental health

I demand facts that I might make a judgment
Who you are
Who I might be
I demand facts

Is it a gambler’s gambit
Or the crux of a dire endgame
Is it an ongoing grinding conflict
What game would you like to play

Ah a quiz
Who are my parents perhaps
Concerning the mother is little question
The father makes the case cloudier

We find ourselves then in a relationship
Which need not have a goal
Or perhaps you have a goal in mind
But you do not tell me

I am not the same as I was
Before you spoke to me
I remember I was headed for my car
Is there something else I should know

In our interplay must be a liturgy
Some gesture some script to follow
Open to improvisation to be sure
Why do you approach me thus with questions