Finding the Light

Whenever something dark occurs,
it becomes more difficult to find the light.

Today my niece, Jenna, told me that her two friends
said that they didn't like her.  I told her,
but I do, though I knew it wasn't the same.
She is five and smiled, but it was a sad smile.

My friend Emily listens to sad songs every day.
She tells me they are beautiful,
even though they make her cry.

I would like to tell her that I understand, but
I'm not sure that she would believe me.
I have somehow become an old man
and it might seem peculiar if I were to say
colors are more vivid coming out of the darkness.

This week my 98 year old grandmother
lost her 93 year old sister.

I would like to tell my grandma not to worry,
that I love her and believe mortality is relative, that
my love of gardens is because of her influence,
and that of my grandfather on my Mom's side,

but we don't speak of these things.
Maybe I'll just call to talk about the weather
and assume she understands.  Maybe
I will tell her about Jenna and Emily.
I would like to help her find the light.

The Dude is 22.

The dude is 22 and continually pushing
his hair out of his right eye
while simultaneously talking shit.

His chief accomplishments to this point
are a C average, a job
delivering pizzas,

and a perfected belligerence
bordering on sociopathic
that he aims at all authority.

Even if he didn't have acne,
he would not be handsome.  Even so,
the dude thinks highly of himself.

What he lacks in looks and brains
he makes up for in angry sarcasm
and foulmouthed hooliganism.

Many people despise him, but
he shakes it off with heroic
American determination.

Econ 101

With an astute analysis
of lunchroom economics

Annemarie voiced her thesis
in no uncertain terms,

"It is 60 f-ing cents
for a cookie!"

and in doing so
perfectly illustrated

rising commodity costs.

Logical Fallacy

"Woe unto you, ye that are full now!
 for ye shall hunger."  Luke 6:25

I was friends with a guy once who had never known
hunger.  He was very fortunate.
He assumed hungry people were just
too lazy to get up and get food.

We had some drinks one night and
he told me as much, but I tried to explain
46 million Americans live in poverty
including 20 percent of our kids.

As his fingers pushed hair from his face
he had the deliberate look of someone
who needs to dodge facts because they
conflict with their world view.

He took a drink and smiled small.
Elvis Costello sang on the jukebox,
"and I would rather be anywhere else
but here today."  His foot tapped.

In the moment he set his drink
on the faux wood bar I realized
that he would no longer be my friend.
We might smile and nod

as acquaintances do, but
he knew that I knew, and I knew
that he knew that I wasn't buying
his great philosophical leap that

a laziness epidemic creates poverty.

Last Week

On Sunday, my Gemini horoscope
told me this week was lucky.

On Monday, the rain threatened
to stop soaking my backyard.

On Tuesday, my friend Olivia said
she dreamt I'd won the lottery.

The rain stopped, the sky
turned October warm.

On Wednesday, I bought instant tickets
and won 6 bucks.  Thanks Olivia.

On Thursday, I got a paper cut,
but it didn't bleed for long.

Now it's Friday.
Sometimes that's enough.

Skeptic

Outta nowhere
my son yells, "Liar!"
and I realize, startled,
that it's the commercial
with the governor
talking 'bout all the jobs
he's created.

And the kid's right.
The few jobs that've come
weren't brought on the wings
of this governor's policy.

Of course my son
is simply repeating
what he's heard us say,
but I like to think
he's also learning to question
the claims of bullshitting
politicians.

Adam

I thought I saw Adam the other day
in the side mirror of a rusty
blue pick-up truck.  It wasn't him.

Then a flock of blackbirds flew fighting
one another from lawn to treetop.
Their hostility made me feel lonely.

I was going to call you, but all you have
is a cell phone and I don't want to talk
while you're deciding what vegetables

you want on your turkey club
on whole wheat at Subway.
We haven't spoken in months.

I don't blame the vegetables, it's
my hang up.  I don't blame the blackbirds either,
even though they're clearly following me.

They've just arrived next door.
Our cats will take care of them.
Where does Adam live now anyway?