Tag: just goofing around

The Drag Rag

the things you see

the things you hear

tear your heart out

and cast you down

 

you try to hide

and shy away

but it’s always there

it’s all around

 

you think and ask

do you believe that’s right

doesn’t it bother you

can’t you hear those sounds

 

they look back at you

with surprise

like you’re a creature

from another time

 

then they nod and wink

and smiling like a clown

 

they say

 

“The stock market’s up

the economy’s fine

you’ll be happy if you get in line

what more can you want

for your life

but the newest stuff

at a low, low price

just smile and nod

or walk away

cuz

you’re the drag.”

that’s what they say

0

Want

I just wanna have a good life

and want the same for others

I want the air to be clean and fresh

and the water, too

I don’t want animals abused

or people killed

for war, pleasure, or fun

 

I just wanna know that others

have the same freedom and rights as me

and the dying, when it’s done,

is graceful and dignified

I know all this is a pipe dream

from whatever stuff I smoke and drink

 

I just wanna be and let be

and live and let live

and other tropes like that

0

Unnatural

Some know the feelings of exertion

the rivulets of sweat plastering hair to head

and clothes to bodies

the film on skin

the drops running off nose and chin

and revel in the results of their efforts

wearing it like emotions on a sleeve

 

Some shun this sweat

hiding in air-conditioning and shade

fanning themselves against heat

flinching back from the sweaty

noses turned up in disapproval

mouths twisted with disgust

at the others’ sweaty presence

as though their sweat is unnatural

 

2

Each Day

Each day, I realize that I don’t know much. I can’t even say that I know much about a particular subject. I tend to know a very little bit about very few things.

Each day, I re-discover things that I’d learned and forgotten. I discover things that I learned when we thought we knew better, but have to learn again because more has been learned. Really, I’m just learning to keep up.

Each day, I learn how much things change between each day and person. I’ve learned that we’re very inconsistent about what we think we know. We like to have what we think we learned validated to verify that we learned what we think we learned.

Each day, I realize how much there is to learn, not just about complicated or esoteric subjects or unfolding scandals, but about myself and the small area of existence that is my world.

Each day, I realize how much I enjoy learning. Sometimes — hell, many times — it wears me out. But with each day, I realize how fragile learning and knowledge really are, and how knowledge can be tortured and twisted.

Each day, I set out, one more time, with a cup of coffee and try to learn just a little bit more.

And some days, I remember it.

0

Overheard at the Parade

It was a conversation between a man and a woman behind me as the Independence Day parade went by in front of me.

The man said, “That woman running for Congress – Jamie?”

“Jaime Mcleod-Skinner?”

“Yes. Did she go to school in Ashland? I went to school in Ashland with someone with her name — ”

“Yes, I went to school with her.”

“You went to school with Jamie Mcleod in Ashland?”

“Yes.”

“I went to school in Ashland.”

“Noel?”

“Meredith?”

Laughter.

0

What the doctor ordered

Just what the doctor ordered,

none of them could say.

He said a lot about this and that,

if and then, but and why,

adding, “It depends on what the insurance pays.”

Then he bounded out of the room,

as he told them, “Have a good stay.”

Just what the doctor ordered,

became more bewildering throughout the day.

0

Progression

a twinge

becomes an ache

an ache grows into a throb

the throb develops as a relentless pain

 

the pain

becomes a fear

the fear grows into a concern

the concern develops as a constant worry

 

the worry

becomes a visit

the visit grows into a routine of meds

the meds develop as a constancy of life

 

the life

becomes a bore

the bore grows into apathy

the apathy develops as a decision

 

the decision

becomes a moment

the moment grows into a goal

the goal develops as an ending

0

Telling

Your silence tells me

something must be wrong

I can’t tell by your face

It’s blank as stone

It bothers me to hear you

staying so still

No matter what I say

Emptiness is all I feel

 

My words run dry

trying to dig something out

I don’t know where to turn

so I just walk out

there’s a distance in the feet between us

that can’t be measured or crossed

I feel my efforts are wasted

and our time has been a loss

 

3

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑