poem of the day 09.23.09

less than brilliant

we had music on
and i said,

i don’t get it
all he does is write
about politics
and people flock to him
they comment
on his every word,

while i go out of
my way
to give them
laughter, art,
and light.

they all love him
and they hate me.

who? she asked.
who hates you
now?

everyone.
take your pick.

i don’t get it,
she said.
you act like everyone
should love you
and everything that
you say.

yes,
i said.
now, you’re getting it.

and when i go
outside
they should all
come up to me
slouched like
beggars
with wooden bowls
and prayer beads.

christ, she said.

no
no
they should kneel
they should be
walking on their knees
because it’s only fair
considering how long
they’ve
made me
do it for them.

you expect
too much from people,
she said.

it’s not expecting too much
to have them recognize
brilliance
every once in a while
especially when it’s presented
to them so blatantly.
they’ll be sorry when
i’m gone.

well, maybe they
think he’s brilliant,
she said.

impossible,
i said.
but then i thought
about it
and the world at large.
then we turned off the music
and put on the television.
on it there was a loud man
selling carpet cleaner.
i heard that he had a huge
following too.
so we watched him
and didn’t speak
for almost an hour.