poem of the day 04.24.09

elixir

i’ll take it down easy
like a smooth drink
this capital end
the way the big shots
want to do us in
with smiles and handshakes
i’ll take it down like an elixir
let them have the apartment
and the books and the bills
our precious jobs and the comfort
they can have the bank account too
i’ll let it rest in my belly like a small fire
keeping just enough to one day
rise like a phoenix
when the time is right
for now i’ll smile like a jackass
while the hammer is coming down
upon me
as they thank me for my wasted time
as the vultures who started this mess
eat the finest carrion
behind the golden bars of their cages
waiting for the coast to clear
so that they can circle around again
and feed on new and raw flesh
as they come to tear it all to pieces again
while the rest smile dumbly
i’ll take it down for me
and i’ll take it down for you too
i’ll hold it for as long as i can
but then i’ll probably shit it out
like a last bad meal
but then i’ll find me a car that still runs
i’ll crawl in and turn that rusted key
find you on one of our lost highways
find us a half-assed radio station
that occasionally plays something good
old songs from our past
together we’ll locate the desert
we’ll remember the feel of the sun
on hot detroit metal
and the way that first cold beer ever tasted
back when life was bliss and california oranges
and things were always on the up and up.