poem of the day 04.11.12

between stupidity and jealousy

i always think the worst
of children in this digital age

that they are
lazy, dull, and ignorant
slabs of flesh

but here it is
a saturday morning in april

a stone’s throw
from my thirty-eighth birthday

and i’m walking behind some kid
down a dewy spring street

heading to work
with another goddamned hangover
and a pathetic lunch

while in his hands
this kid has

movies, video games
and a worn looking baseball glove

a whole day
clasped to his breast
as he knocks on a neighbor’s door

and is let inside
by someone’s beautiful mother

while i continue
down the drowsy street alone

my mind stuck somewhere
between stupidity and jealousy

my heart like a hangman’s noose
in the stiff, yellow sun.