The Heckler

He yelled something

From the crowd

And the crowd

Became an ocean

And the man

Became an island

That the ocean

Moved around

He yelled a couple words

And I had to decide

Whether or not

To listen

To the island

In the sea

I couldn’t make out

What he said

Because he wasn’t

Supposed to be talking

You rarely hear it

The first time

The words

You’re so jolted

You’re so caught

It’s natural to want to say--

Huh?

To want to say--

What did you say?

But if you’re smart

You laugh

No matter it is

You laugh

You laugh it off

And you keep going

The laugh works

Because it signals

To the man

That you are not

Disrupted

Like a child being bullied

You show

That the bullying

Doesn’t bother you

Even though it does

Of course it does

You’re there to do something

And he’s there deciding

That he doesn’t like

How you’re doing

What you’re doing

Or who it is

That’s doing it

Meaning you

Meaning--

And this is probably

What he really wants you

To know--

He doesn’t

Like

You

So what do you do

With that?

The man yells something out

And you stand there

Quietly

You hold the microphone

You sit on the stool

If there’s a stool

You relinquish the stage

To the man

In the crowd

Hidden by the sound

Of the glasses

Being put down

And the clatter of footsteps

On their way to the back

Where the bathrooms are

And the bar

And the exit

To the parking lot

You cede the room

To him

This man

Who couldn’t handle

The breadth of the attention

All the attention

Directed at him

For ten minutes

Or an hour

He can take a second

Of everyone’s time

But give him the room

And the island will wash under

The waves of everyone turning--

Turn, you request, take a look

I think this gentleman

Has something

To say

But then there’s nobody there

Nothing but

A half-drunk drink

No coaster

No owner

Just the darkness

Of the ocean

And a spot

Where the sand

Used to be