Priorities on a Monday
Nothing heavy on my mind.
A snowcapped mountain
in my vision point. No one
ill or mad. It’s only Monday
and I’m sitting in my car
waiting for the school bell
to ring to pick up my nephew.
I promised him to toss the
football around. No poem
is more important than that.
This Is Me
This is me,
a former dishwasher, and
coffee cup server,
a third-grade basketball champion,
and if you find anyone who cares, ask them
how many dishes I washed,
and how many cups of coffee I served before I quit, or how many points I scored?
Forgive me if there is no corroboration
for what I remember. I washed a hundred plates at least, I served and washed a hundred coffee cups, a hundred glasses, a hundred spoons, forks, and knives. I was given two dollars in tips, and so I quit. I scored 10 points, five baskets, each more creative than the other playing below the rim. There was no three point line in 1977. I stuck a half-quarter shot to win the game, 15 to 14. Another kid made one free-throw, and two others made lay-ups off of my behind the back dimes. I’m going now.
I just wanted to let you know who I was.
That was me as best as I could remember.
So Smart
Never pretend to be so smart
that your time will be taken up
by people wanting one thing
and then another. They will pick
your brain, burst your eardrum
to the point you are exhausted.
Plain and simple, play dumb.
Take a breath. Take it easy.
Just do enough to get along.
Do not go out of your way unless
you have to. Listen to this closely.
Take a breath. Take it easy.
Do not pretend to be so smart
you will not be around to rest.
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