poor rich

he shouldn’t feel bad
about what happened.

it was nice that he cared
enough to come out after me,
and brave that he dared
to broach the subject
in front of an audience.

I will admit to being
confused, and thrown off
guard, so I fell back
on my default arch
mannerisms, fearing
it was a trick, that somehow
he was setting me up
for embarrassment.
also I was so very tired
that at first I couldn’t even
remember the wording
of the piece in question,
so I stalled for time
while mentally reviewing it
for clues as to how angry
it could have come across.

but honestly I’d much rather
he asked if I was mad
when I wasn’t, than not notice
when I actually was mad.