I Must Be

I must be the last sip of wine in a lady's glass,
I must be the dried beer that sticks to the sole,
I must be the cigarette half smoked, discarded,
Retrieved by seagull and rejected again.

I must be the pennies given to the crone,
Tossed back to protect her pride,
I must be the crumbs overlooked by pigeons in winter,
The oil pool making rainbows in sunlight,
Under engine spewing toxic fumes,
Which I must be too.

I must be the mosquito stuck in clenching muscle, exploding overfull,
I must be moth and mayfly, hypnotized by false moon,
I must be invalid bee's stinger deployed,
In fleeting valor to protect the unassailable,
I must be the spider devoured by wasp.

I must be the forced smile and the furrowed brow,
The withheld tear and the stifled scream,
The taxing dream and the hidden fear,
The misplaced hand, the falling sand.

I must be though,
I must be though,
I must be though,
So I am.