so what exactly is it that you do?

around these parts,

Washington D.C.,

when you

ask

someone what they do

do for a living, they

start talking

in circles,

using acronyms

and letters, numbers

and names

of agencies you've

never heard of

buried

in the deep state.

twenty

minutes later, you shake

your head,

still not

knowing

what they do.

then they say, please don't

tell anyone

what i just told

you. it's classified.

and then they ask you,

what do you do?

so you show them

your spattered

calloused hands

and say,

i paint.