Mentors

Street Mobs

It makes me want to join the crowd

by vomiting on it.

Yes, that is very crude,

but I think I was clear

as the last bits of puke.

Combine

Work life? Work torture!

And try finding someone in Jonestown

who isn’t bat-shit crazy!

I Require Hugs

This other kind of laughing is a salve,

an apothecary’s unguent.

It pollutes my blood against the rage

a triggering event might provoke.

Enough

Your body is saying to you,

"You’re fifty-two.

You should be long since dead.

Bred for short, violent bursts of life,

and faculties made for early education—

don’t make things worse by stretching, sprinting."

Cold Steel

8:19,

gunshot.

8:20,

multiple gunshots.

No.

Neither that word

nor hands across the face

will stop these bullets

from ending your life.

Survive

It is not twenty-four seven,

but it is every waking hour.

That’s why I brush my teeth in the morning,

and why I tolerate the nonsense.

Praise

I know most of the time

you are appreciating others

with your keen judgment of art.

How does it feel to be appreciated?

You put that out there.

People are saying that you are beautiful.

Paired Off

I think that you will find

that I will be your total mark.

I know I’m fifty

and very set in my ways,

but, oh God, I will put up with it.

I’ll out hop and skip you to where you want to go.

Gold

I will be the lucky one.

Luck has such a bad rep.

And it produces such a good feeling.

Being lucky!

A relationship where this feeling is shared,

even if it’s called destiny, is the ideal.

That being said, I will be the lucky one.

That will be the general consensus.

Lawyering Up

I get the feeling

you’re having one of those 101 moments.

"We gave you the easiest test,

and you failed miserably.

We have no choice

but to let you go."

Kurt is a manager, right?

You, a supervisor, sent me his request.

A clear chain of command.

I replied all

after putting my name to

$744 worth of charges

that a clinic

which is literally full of brain surgeons

didn’t think was chargeable.

He jumped past you

to ask me why.

Yes, I was defensive.

I bucked back into the hierarchy

to ask my supervisor, you,

for a little help.

Decency

I don’t appreciate my philosophy

being laughed at.

I wouldn’t laugh in your face

if you told me yours.

I change my opinions (sometimes),

but never after having them ridiculed.

I am a man.

Maybe not someone you respect.

Still, don’t forget it.

I have life experiences.

I also have the perspective of fifty plus years—

even if it’s not worthwhile in your eyes.

We all become more rigid as we get older.

That together with the generalized weakening

of the nervous system,

make us particularly less able to

absorb the impact of mockery.

(Prime targets for bullies.)

When society okays it,

encourages it even,

it’s time to find a new society to live in.

That philosophy of mine

that you found so amusing—

that I just wanted the most basic,

the easiest, lowest job on your staff,

so long as I could work from home—

I cannot stress how happy

that situation is for me right now.

The basest stepped salary here at home

would be fine with me.

I do not want to aim high.

I am nine years from retirement.

I’m sure I can’t pick up the repertoire

of skills that you think are desirable—

even if I live that long.

I agree, we should make room for entry level.

I feel bad about that.

That can’t affect management much though.

I understand the mentorship feeling,

but the stability of the position offsets that.

I think I’m owed it too.

I’m not asking for much.

Dish

I don’t know if this kind of thing

bothers you—rumors and innuendo—

but we were seen together

by people