the big question in poetry

have I given away enough of my past
as presents
to finally have my future back?

have I finally realized that I’m not dead?
have I finally realized that when
they told me that I should be quiet
they were really saying
“I want people to look at me instead”?

am I so close I can taste it?
it’s okay if the taste is all I’m ever gonna get
some people can’t even imagine it
at least I got that taste instead…

it isn’t whether you succeed
it’s the soul of what you’re trying to do
don’t you know that in Soviet Russia
the circus runs off to join you?

have I burned off all the things I lost
drowned ‘em in the Mohawk in a sack?
have I given away enough of my past as presents
to finally have my future back?

we were never gonna get there on a half-tank
we only even had a chance to get there on fumes
so here we’re plugging e
all the lights are going off
but what can we do?

coasting to the finish line
is the only way we were ever gonna win
so don’t have faith you can play it safe
at the green flag when you begin

some people say you’re falling
you’re just flying in reverse and
because you don’t have wings
you have to learn it backward first

it was gonna be hard no matter what
I’m gonna cut myself slack
and I’ll get there the day
I’ve given up enough to get my future back

Last updated June 14, 2015