Epilogue
Busted
Gentle as rain, the poetry police
Thundered at my mixed metaphor
Then accused me of, splitting, I think,
Infinitives with grammar poor
The hanging judge participle, thinking my words
Predicate syntactic crime
The jury, an actively passive bunch
Took little joy from my rhyme
The discourse was quick, I has no defense
But felt no need for penance
Foreshadowed is seemed, from the very first word
I was given a fragmented sentence
So here I sit, poetic license revoked
Condition of release now imposed
For the next thirty days, for my own good
I’m only allow to write prose
Not a nice guy
Father preferred
Competing over teaching
Life lessons generalization were few
I stumbled into adulthood
Knowing drive to the hoop
No pearls of wisdom, save two
First
The conservative’s a person
Who doesn’t like change
That’s what it’s really about
Last
Time will be spent
Waiting for women though
Worth it he said with no doubt
Been gone so long now
Can’t remember his face
Unless I look at a mirror
Odd what you conjure
Up late at night
Odd which thoughts become dear
Really need to stop
Watching cable news
Entertainer Journalist
His reasonable tone of voice
In no way mitigates
The darkness in his speech
The kind of guy
You’d share a beer with
Risking the chance of poison
Clever with words
Not so much with ideas
Very willing to discuss his values
A modern take on an old notion
But lacking the honest scowl
A smile keeps the prey distracted
His willingness to take
Is exceeded only by his ability to feel
Self-righteous while taking
Claims journalist credibility
Hiding behind entertainer accountability
Performing both with ability scant
Embarrassing to look upon
More so, we likely made him
If enough ignore, he may go away
The lie remains one
Of our most popular
Communication forms
Quick Litany of Lies
From
I’ll call you
In the morning
To
Vote for me
I’ll change things
Ever
Popular for
Your own good
We face it every day
Quaint
No sex with
That woman
Pious
Free markets
Grant us freedom
Thinly
Veiled checks
In the mail
I fear they’re here to stay
Let’s try
More time
With the family
Privileged
He just needs
More rehap
Frequently
You need
Our product
Hey
Don’t go by what they say
Tough Love
Please
Don’t tell
Me there’s more
Let’s
Not let
Tomorrow
Flow
Backwards into
Here and now
Like
Thinking baseball
While making love
It
May prolong
But you’re not here
Instead
Join in this moment
Then the next
Enjoy
Habits
Yesterday didn’t write a thing
Not one word emerged
Instead tried on a few new friends
In an alcohol based social surge
Afterwards we went to sleep
Without really saying anything
Woke screaming with a cramp
Just as the dream was getting interesting
A sharp reminder of what it takes
To assure we don’t fall sickly
Sure hope it don’t happen again today
Since I form habits quickly
Frankly getting out of bed
In the morning is risk enough
Thanks
What are the Odds?
He preferred gambling
With a lust for chance exceeding even sex
Not that sex isn’t
Long odds not short skirts
Spending serious thrills to get that
Intimate adrenal afterglow
Took up rock climbing
When money lost its edge
Deciding upon higher stakes
Lost that last bet
On his way up a mountain
With a woman half his age
The First Thing That Pops Into My Head
He tried to teach
The most import thing
An artist needs is
Something to say
I don’t get the meaning
He critiqued across the circle
Always suggesting
Be more specific
Forty years two, maybe, three
Lifetimes down the road
Still unsure what he meant
I remain hopeful
Is it naive
To wonder why
It’s called reorganization
When any actual organizing is
Just a side effect?
A Bad Time at Work
Deciders sweep in like crazed locust
Controlling knowing it all
Tell us they just want to know us
We dance like attending a ball
They give it some thought over lunchtime
Serve us like cheap food at the mall
Then the first one is no longer with us
Didn’t even bother to stall
Some scatter away from the carnage
Follow the head-hunter call
The rest hope to be the last standing
Waiting for the axe to fall