i fear from the smirk on your face
that you laugh at 
my naivete - my innocence 

i am not as hilarious as you think that i am 

your two types of jokes – 
those that make me laugh – at some observation 
or remark 
or those that are private – 
that contain something that only you understand – 
that cut through the air like a dart 
and i feel as if i might have misheard 

and yet your personality draws in enough people 
that in your presence they laugh too – 

because you make them feel like they have your confidence 

the in crowd 

and i am tangled in a script that has given me no other lines to read 

you dismiss me 
i leave. 

kate ©