“My Name Is Not Patricia”

Every time you say you want to lead me,
I remember — even God said
put your faith in God,
not on earth,
and certainly not in humans.

And I struggle to find the words
to tell you I’m not your pawn,
not your fool.


But what comes out is this:
my name is not Patricia,
because I am not your patsy,
and we are not friends anymore.

I want to apologize
for my crass sarcasm,
but I don’t know what to say —
the words just fell out of my mouth.


And it’s not a Freudian slip,
because I did ask God
to help me find the words.

So now you know:
my name is not Patricia.
I am not your patsy.
And we are not friends anymore.