Untitled #1

[Achebe]

Hi nikki - some thoughts below

The words are there to envelop me, 
a wall against the otherness ....I think the metaphor needs to be consistent here - walls don't envelope
that leaves me owing explanation; ...same as above - not clear why a wall owes you an explanation. Better to use a simile in L2 ("like a..." instead of "a..."). Words can't owe you an explanation either...the message isn't clear.
marking me for stares,
names, entitled questions, fear.

The smooth pages offer me my escape, 
hiding behind the poppies of Mary Oliver, 
the rantings of Bukowski,
the longing and ardor of Neruda. 
Their passion my salvation, my shield. ...'salvation' and 'shield' are a loose pairing

One day I will rebuff the shifty stares, ...best to rebuff a fixed stare, not one that is by definition, 'shifty'
the too personal queries, violations of space.
But, for today, I smile politely, 
and wait patiently to retreat again
into the lines and rhythm of the words. ...I like the last three lines and it feels like the rest of the poem is a set up to come to them