-almost famous-

upon completion, I transferred
the new poem to my facebook page

so that any number from 91 friends
would have the opportunity to read it.
that's 91 friends and holding.

It was soon after the posting
that I noticed the notification

of a response from someone I assumed
was a friend or family member, the bright
cadmium red No.1 ballooned over the brushed,
cobalt-blue circle of the Earth.

I’m always happy to see this
as it's perceived as a modicum
of attentiveness being shown to my poems.
but when I clicked on the notification

It appeared to be posted by Sharon Olds

and my heart skipped a beat so intensely
I might have been rendered near death
due to cardiac arrest same as when I sneeze.

but it turned out to be a standard

informational notification for followers

on the recent goings-on of Sharon Olds,
(where she's reading tomorrow.
where she's reading next Wednesday...)

and not a personal response by her to my new poem.

all of this happened well over an hour ago
and I’m still palpitating in the same ways
the cardiovascular systems spiked to dangerous levels
with other poem-writers in the neighborhood 

the moment they believed Sharon Olds showed-up.