So Sorry

Poetry by Felicity Huffman

 

I’m so sorry to all the poor people

who don’t cheat and who don’t pay bribes

I’m so sorry to all the unfortunates

who didn’t get to go to Interlochen like me when they were young

I’m so sorry you didn’t get picked for David Mamet’s group at NYU

Sorry you didn’t have my lovely life

I’m sorry your nickname isn’t Flicka

Cause I have the cutest nickname.

Sorry you didn’t grow up with horses like I did

I’m sorry to the rest of the American elite

For opening up this crack and letting the unwashed look in

And glimpse in horror what a difference privilege makes

(But don’t worry, the unwashed have short memories,

they’ll forget all of this in time)

Still, I am sorry I betrayed you, my rich and famous friends

At Campbell Hall and Oakwood and the Buckley School and Harvard Westlake

Little castles in the valley for the young aristocrats

The young princes and princesses of celebrity and wealth

The only places in America where the truth can be spoken —

That the golden calf in fact is God.

That what matters the very most is your bloodline

And your family crest of dollar signs

I’m so sorry to the College Board

and the FBI

and I’m sorry to the judge

and the prosecutor

I’m grateful to my publicist

who helped me craft this apology

I’m sorry you were so expensive

But this rebranding’s going well!

Everyone agrees.

It will take a while, but I’ll be healed and redeemed

I’m so sorry for what I did

I’m sorry, I’ve never written poetry before

This sounds like free-associating

Sorry, I lost my train of thought.

Oh yes, above all, and please believe me

The thing I’m most sorry for

And the thing I most regret:

I’m so sorry I got caught.