many viewed a sit-down with the master
as a sign they had arrived, when the truth
seeker knew it was she that would steer
the conversation
to destinations named
truth—dissimilar
all the same—amidst
streetcars of desire
and paths of
many
firsts
breaks
airwaves
all in a series of views
and viewers—direct
questions, big scores,
time (and timely) covers
gets and galas
days and nights
anchors and achings
ports and payscales
spoofs and spares
drivers and dares
trees and trials
fears and fashions
trials and televisions
presidents and precedents
interns and internments
ladders and legacies
truth,
done right
always (and all)
knowing
that arrivals
are relative and truths
measured—
in a series
of stand-ups
and sit-downs
up down
across town
paths
well sown
it’s not goodbye
it’s not goodnight
it’s not farewell
it’s 20-20 vision,
mountains climbed,
broadcasts traversed
her way
an unmeasurable
and irreplaceable
first
a fabulous
lady
Jen Schneider is an educator who lives, writes, and works in small spaces throughout Pennsylvania. Recent works include A Collection of Recollections, Invisible Ink, On Habits & Habitats, and Blindfolds, Bruises, and Breakups.