Literary Criticism

Literary Criticism

now and again
in a moment of weakness
driven by delusions of grandeur
I give someone the gift
of one of my books
having seen in their thinking
a reason to believe my work
would resonate with them

but as often as not
the gift is never acknowledged
good manners apparently out of fashion
so I never find out
if they liked the book or not

and weeks later, seeing them
down the street
I go out of my way
to avoid them

so I don't have to
find out