
I have nurtured
a common string
of worries
for several years now
They amount to
a general dread
of What May Come
tomorrow
next week
or tonight
at 10:00 pm
I am sure, you see
that the car will die
or the disease will appear
with financial ruin
hot on it’s heels
maybe a little moral failure
thrown in
for good measure
Of course
most of these fears
are never realized
but I persist in my belief
My
unbelief
For instance
The 7′4″
399 lb. man
did not actually squeeze
himself through my small
kitchen window
last night
forcing me to
climb out of bed
half asleep and
spray him down
with buckshot
Similarly
neither unknown
government forces
nor private interests
nor my own ignorance
in such matters
actually converged
last month to create
a perfect financial
storm that
wiped me out
and put me
on the street
selling my cats
to survive
The health
and wealth
self-help gang
would have much
to say regarding my
various neuroses
I’m sure
But there are benefits
built into this system
of thinking
First
a certain warrior awareness
that brings a “readiness”
for ANYTHING
at ANYTIME
Next
a high-level
self-entertainment
system that the
television executives
in Hollywood
could only fantasize
about creating
Last
every once in a while
a half-baked little poem
will stick it’s head
out of the pile
and say
“Hey you,
big shot,
why don’t you
throw me out there
into the game
tomorrow
so I don’t have to
call in a favor
from the
kitchen
window
guy
tonight.”
Whoever said
poetry is for pansies
never tried to
run
one of
the
little
bastards
through
the
shredder
_____________________________________
Robert Bruce is one of the most read, linked, loved and reviled poets working on the web. He writes at KNIFE GUN PEN every Monday from Portland, Ore. Get more over at Twitter. If this did something to you or for you, go ahead and spread it around...







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i like the humor in this.
I miss you crazy Oregoners.
Oregonians?
Oregonzos?
Time for a road trip…
The self-help gang is just trying to make money off the books.
I was always under the impression that the number two executives in Hollywood (and NY) did create that system, but I could be wrong–something going on there regardless
Anyone who thinks poetry is for pansies is just attacking what they don’t understand.
I loved the rhythm and sound of these lines:
The health
and wealth
self-help gang
Too cool, man.
Of course, I liked
My
unbelief
best.
Seeing as how that is my only real problem.