Free
Verse
Impossible Dreams
I want to write the first
self-published
chapbook that sells a million copies.
I want to be the first poet
to sell out arenas.
Not once.
Not twice.
But five nights in a row.
And perform three-and-a-half hour sets
just like Springsteen did in the 70s and 80s.
I want to invite my
brothers and sisters in
poetry to help me create an annual festival
called WORDSTOCK.
It will consist of three days of peace, love
and metaphors.
I want it to be so big and important that
people will smash through the fences
to witness incredible poetry for free—
but not until we’ve turned a profit.
I want to see an hour of
verse on prime-time TV every night of the week.
Think about it, NBC.
It will be cheaper to produce than a
ten o’clock Jay Leno show.
I want to kickstart a new
kind of future.
I want to teach the
majority of
humankind that poetry doesn’t suck.
I want to….think about this
to-do list
some other time.
It’s getting really cold in
the break room.
Time for me to go back to
work.
St.
Patrick’s Day at Farmer’s Market
I wish I could be
the silver flask
you’re drinking from
as you flirt with all the
members of the male community
gathered around you.
Instead, I sit at a
separate table
trying to write a depth-filled poem
about how a group of strangers
gather together to sing
“When Irish Eyes Are Smiling”
on Saint Patrick’s Day,
easing their troubles
with momentary revelry.
Each draft of the poem
is worse than the one before.
Feeding
the Economy Train to Itself
ONE
Let's feed the train to itself
just like the Marx Brothers did
towards the end of GO WEST
so the train can make it across the bridge
and into the next town.
Tear out wood from each car
and pass it forward
so it can go into the engine's furnace
and provide more fuel.
Democrats look at the economy and say:
WE'RE DOING SOMETHING
BUT WE CAN'T GO TOO FAR!!!
Republicans look at the economy
and view the national crisis
as another opportunity
to play political football with the Democrats:
PUSH 'EM BACK!!! WAY BACK!!!
And the CEOs want more money
to keep living well and failing upward,
using this dialogue from JULIUS CAESAR:
WE WILL BE SATISFIED!!!
LET US BE SATISFIED!!!
TWO
CNBC's International Superstar
Erin Burnett comes into my office,
balances a leg on my desk
and says:
"I've got two words for you:
WEALTH DESTRUCTION."
Then she leans forward
and tells me oh-so-seductively
to keep watching CNBC
and buy 10,000 shares of General Electric stock
before tomorrow's trading closes.
So I turn on CNBC
and see and hear Jim Cramer ranting
about how he'll take down Jon Stewart Thursday night.
Cramer bellows:
JON STEWART'S JUST A COMEDIAN!!!
IF HE TRIES ANYTHING, I'LL ASK HIM
WHY HE DOESN'T MAKE ANY JOKES
ABOUT VIACOM AND SUMNER REDSTONE!!!
Then Jim calms down:
Don't worry, folks!!!
It's safe to double down on AIG.
Have I ever steered you wrong before?
Upon hearing that bit of sage wisdom,
I think about the Marx Brothers
and the end of GO WEST
and hope there will be enough wood
on the rest of the train
to feed to the engine furnace
to at least get us past the bridge.
