#MIDDLEBURY
On Being Told I Look Like FLOTUS, New Year’s Eve Party 2014
January Gill O’Neil
Deep in my biceps I know it’s a complement, just as
I know this is an all-black-people-look-alike moment.
So I use the minimal amount of muscles to crack a smile.
All night he catches sight of me, or someone like me, standing
next to deconstructed cannoli and empty bottles of Prosecco.
And in that moment, I understand how little right any of us have
to be whoever we are – the constant tension
of making our way in this world on hope and change.
You’re working your muscles to the point of failure,
Michelle Obama once said about her workout regimen,
but she knows we wear our history in our darkness, in our patience.
A compliment is a complement – this I know, just as the clock
will always strike midnight and history repeats. This is how
I can wake up the next morning and love the world again.
About this poem
“It is a flattering comparison, but I’m keenly aware that I live in a part of the country that’s less diverse. So when people say I look like Michelle Obama, I know they are trying to make a connection with me. This poem is a recognition of the awkwardness, the effort and the patience it takes to let the moment unfold.” – January Gill O’Neil
About January Gill O’Neil
January Gill O’Neil is the author of “Misery Islands” (CavanKerry Press, 2014). She teaches at Salem State University and lives in Beverly, Mass.
The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day@poets.org.
(c) 2016 January Gill O’Neil. Originally published in Poem-a-Day, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
