i think i should know you

i feel like i should know you.

Remind me.

Was that you i saw

working harder for

a smaller reward?

i might have been there

that morning

after the night-beating;

you were drinking black coffee,

circling job leads

in the paper’s classifieds,

willing to take any job you could get.

Surely a person of such

strength and enduring dignity,

a person such as yourself,

i could not forget.

i think that was you

i saw carry on,

disregarding those lewd words.

Were you put in your place?

How you appear to have risen,

still to rise much more.

i think i heard

your (out)cry once.

i recognize your voice,

but not as well as i would like.

You bring a certain

unmatched intelligence

that has been the subject

of my negligence.

i’m sorry; i think i should know you.

i think i should know you by now.

…………………………

i think i should know you

by troy cady

on International Women’s Day