white elephant in poetry

life is a white elephant
we never asked for this
but here we are anyway
what will you do about it?

a white elephant in full
a precious blessing and yet
the upkeep is also a bitch
the work you have to do
just to keep it on going
is so monumental as to
possibly outweigh the value

and so we plod along
making the best of it
trying to pay for the food
medicine loans and whatever
for this sacred bric-a-brac
for this bridge to nowhere
told how special a sign
told it’s proof we’re loved
but man this life is also
a barrel of plastic hassles
for we’re not Thai kings
who can keep them in castles
these lives are all we got

our lives are white elephants
like it or not and
there are no church basements
where we can trade them away
for something more useful
or at least less perishable
less expensive to keep around

but here we are anyway
what will you do about it?

Last updated February 15, 2016