James Penha | Tumbler

I have learned to be careful.
This is a difficult city.
I want you to know I am
secured. Only I have the key.
This is a frightening city.
And by the way, she is not
me. Or maybe she is. I am.
This is a confusing city.
And by the way, I am not in.
I am out. To you. Unless it’s
you. If it’s you, call. I’ll let you
in.

Expat New Yorker James Penha  (he/him) has lived for the past three decades in Indonesia. Nominated for Pushcart Prizes in fiction and poetry, his work is widely published in journals and anthologies. His newest chapbook of poems, American Daguerreotypes, is available for Kindle. Penha edits The New Verse News, an online journal of current-events poetry. Twitter: @JamesPenha