I don't want to drive a school bus.
or fall to my death
or be found drunk and stumbling
in the slowdown lane of a highway.
I ignore horoscopes.
Instead, I hang out on rooftops,
as a sidewalk musician
just to frighten the neighbors.
I've saved nothing from this grind,
this assembly line.
Before I ever made it to my teenage years,
I’ve wondered what it was like to hold down a job,
to work on bridges.
dressed for high visibility.
For now, busy hands and dull minds
make something for the marketplace.
I can work and part my hair at the same time.
I did not see my childhood go.
I don't play golf.
I don't remember much of anything of high school.
I mow the lawn, trim the hedges.
But I stay away from bridges,
prefer predictability to freefall.
I read the newspaper online.
I spread my wings angel-wide.
I was the eagle in a town without eagles.
I was a believer until I realized that
God had nothing in mind for me.
The process never stops.
So it’s best that it not be relentless.
Nothing shuts down,
I'm happy to be a version of it.
I'm politically unmotivated.
I'm relaxing in my car in the parking lot,
It's a pleasant hour.
I've almost paid off my car-loan
So I’m just piecing together or dismantling
what happened or what didn’t happen.
Lightning, snowstorm, they don't bother me none.
Nor do most of my human parts,
except for there ones that maintain a sense of calm.
My bones are all in sync.
My moustache disappeared.
I don’t climb ladders or walk under them either.
Nor do I go down into mines.
I can’t afford new Nikes.
I ask no questions.
I’ve no reach beyond what I can grasp.
I set aside my fears and then forget where I put them.
And I can get through most occasions,
even the tricky ones, without thinking.
I take everything personally so I avoid crowds.
I once wrote my name on a factory wall.
The reddish-gold dawn is my favorite.
My least favorite sentence is “I’m screwed.”
I imagine what it is like to fall down onto the rocks below.
I’m sometimes grateful that I have this job.
Except for the loud machinery.
And the people who tell me what to do.
Or look down on me.
I try not to break things.
I do have a keen sense of direction.
I still dream
though there is no point to dreaming.
