The wiry man I thought was homeless
Too quickly suggests he can help sell my book,
With phrases like “sales funnel” and “affiliate links”
And name-drops of famous cult leaders.
His face shape and speech pattern
Conjure images of the family friend
Whose emotional problems
Prompted expulsion from school for threatening another student.
I emailed this man, thinking, “Eh, what’s the harm?”
He hasn’t set off alarm bells—
Only over-bold signs of earnest devotion,
And who am I to punish him for that?
Julian Wise 