how long a life in poetry

all of our faces and internal places
our tenderest non-negotiable spaces
all the basics will almost surely be
separated out by their atomic density
by the end of the twenty-first century
we’d declare ourselves special cases
we’d pass as exceptions hopefully?

but if only I could just keep it together
then I could escape this storm unweathered
if I could ripple like a rock in the water
then I could roll through life untethered
I could get through heaven by my teeth’s skin
return to Earth again hell-bent for leather
but if I only could just keep it together

facing down these thousand possible futures
still weeping pink from those filthy sutures
popping stitches from improbable procedures
mistaking manic breakdowns for our leisures
don’t confuse overthought for being feckless
our lashing out in agony for being wreckless
we’re live imprecise human beings my brother
not rationally-perfected fictional detectives

they tell me it’s not over until it’s over
that somewhere there are fields of clover
somewhere we’ve got golden sacred wings
somewhere we’ve got dappled feathers
maybe we can even get ourselves there
if we can keep on keeping it together
speaking for myself, I can for a while
but I sure can’t do it for-goddamn-ever

Last updated September 20, 2015