The guy is 6′ 7″ and covered in tattoos
he walks back and forth
all day, jobless
convenience store to home
home to convenience store
with a golden new 40 of
Schlitz Malt Liquor in his hand
And Jesus commands me to
love my neighbor
Raw, stinking garbage stacks up
in his yard
causing large, unashamed rats
to show up with suitcases
and great joy
every few months
the City comes out
fines him
makes him clean up
And Jesus commands me to
love my neighbor
His dogs possess miracle larnyxes
barking for stretches of
five to seven hours at a time
the hounds are joined by him and his girlfriend
at 1:37 am
for yelling matches that provide me with
strange dreams
and bad poems
And yet, Jesus doesn’t cut me any slack
“…love thy neighbor…”
I’m usually angry and
frustrated by these impossible words
until I walk by a
mirror
And take
a good, long look
at the self-righteousness
I carry around with me
and have carefully preserved
as a mortician does
his latest
customer
Jesus doesn’t command me
to love my neighbor
because my neighbor
is somehow lovable
He tells me to do it because
though I like to play at enlightenment
my neighbor and I
are barreling down this old fire road
at one hundred and one miles per hour
in the
same
shitty
Buick
together
Forgive me neighbor
I have not loved you
23 responses ↓
1 Beckie Gerdes | 15 May 2006
Robert!!!
You ROCK MY SOCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love reading your Monday offerings - I am always entertained, challenged, intrigued, mystified….. but mostly challenged - you RAWK!!!!
Thanks for sharing your gift of pen and word with us!
Hope to see you in the near future!
Love to you and R!!
Beckie :)
2 Brian Clark | 15 May 2006
Great stuff man. Loved it.
3 Robert Bruce | 15 May 2006
Thanks Beckie, its been a while… hope all is well over there my old neighbor…
Brian, man, good to have you around here. Anyone reading this who isn’t familiar with Brian Clark… click his name above, you’ve been missing out.
4 Liz Strauss | 16 May 2006
You say it so well.
Thank you for this.
I’m usually angry and
frustrated by these impossible words
until I walk by a
mirror
They are music. They are poetry. They are life. You gave me something to steer my soul.
5 Robert Bruce | 16 May 2006
Well, that’s usually how it goes down for me.
I impose my judgements so easily on others… and choose to completely ignore the wickedness in myself.
I may dress better, look better, have more social grace, but the inside stinks like the rotting garbage in his yard. And it ain’t the outside that matters in the end…
6 Robert Bruce | 16 May 2006
All I mean’t to say was, thanks Liz. You give good comments.
7 chartreuse (BETA) » Blog Archive » Robert Bruce Hates You (Or every few months the City comes out fines him and clean on up) | 16 May 2006
[...] [...]
8 Carl McLendon | 16 May 2006
beautiful words, beautiful truths…
9 Robert Bruce | 16 May 2006
“…beautiful truths…”
You’re right Carl. Grace is all.
Cool site you’ve got there, by the way.
10 Liz Strauss | 17 May 2006
I liked both of your comments Robert. The second one would have been less without the first.
11 candice | 17 May 2006
A neighbor story?
Next door to my folks lived a local preacher to one of those weird new christian churches. He was the type of guy who never cut the grass or did anything else to keep up his house until his parishoners got around to doing it for him. After the hurricane, he was bragging to us about scamming the insurance companies because he was getting church people to do all the work for free. Some holiness there, really.
12 Robert Bruce | 17 May 2006
Might be one of those weird new kinds of holiness Candice. They’re easy to apply and can really work for you in the end I hear…
How’re you doing down in NOLA? Hope things are at least bearable.
13 candice | 17 May 2006
I’m doing alright, I managed to find an apartment again finally and that was the big thing that needed to get done - I was staying at my parents house for way too long.
I made out better than most people so I can’t really complain much.
14 l | 19 May 2006
positively delicious
15 Robert Bruce | 19 May 2006
Hey “I”, what’s going on at your site over there? I’m usually a snob (see: self-righteous) when it comes to that kind of thing… but you’ve really got something happening.
Nice.
16 Mackey | 26 May 2006
Excellent read and extremely relevent to everyday life. It really reminds me of a guy just across the street from me and how I really should befriend him more than just the shallow wave that I throw at him every other day. If I could drop one little bit of constructive critique, Leave out the profanity as I would love to share some of your stuff with my children.
17 Robert Bruce | 26 May 2006
Mackey, thanks for the comment and the critique, appreciate both.
On the profanity. The right tools exist for the right job and though I may be wrong, I use the words that hit me in the gut at any given time. I use them at times because they are effective, because they can sometimes drive the poem, and because I really don’t know what I’m doing or where the next poem is coming from.
This is not an intellectual excercise for me. This is a belly scream for mercy and grace. Sometimes those screams aren’t pleasant.
I don’t write for children specifically, but I’m honored that you would want to read my stuff to yours. Feel free to cut and paste, excluding offensive words, and read away to them.
I don’t aim to be profane, but my lack of love toward my neighbor certainly is. And I try to use the right tools for the job…
Thanks for coming around. Hope you continue to do so.
18 Robert Bruce | American Poet | knifegunpen.com » Blog Archive » KGP Talking Show No. 6 | 4 Oct 2006
[...] And to my listeners, you’ll have to love your neighbor and forgive me. Had a few tech problems with this one that could not be conquered. Enjoy the show… [...]
19 gar | 26 Aug 2007
The “tongue” and the the ” ‘tude”—two very touchy triggers that all to often “go off” indiscriminately. I agree we need to be surrounded by more mirrors to evaluate ourselves before evaluating/judging others. Good read, bro.
20 trying to listen · Really Caring | 25 Sep 2007
[...] this one is good, it’s not among his best I think. There’s an excellent look at what loving our neighbor means, a cutting look at consumer culture and todays somewhat romantic look at what a life of [...]
21 madly | 19 Feb 2008
hey wats up just thought i’d telll you that im using this poem for a poetry project @ school.
luv ya,
Madly
22 madly | 19 Feb 2008
i also wanted to know if you have any other peoms about friendship? and i also want to see you sometime soon … like in a few days so you’d better come visit or else!
luv ya,
Madly
23 Robert Bruce | 22 Feb 2008
Madly baby, I’m honored you’d use this little thing, hope it works for you. No other “friendship poems” that I know of, maybe I should get on that.
I’ll call you about a visit.
Much Love.
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