poem of the day 10.01.12

little monster

the little monster

on the evening bus keeps screaming

the other tired bastards

keep moving away from him

up toward the front

making the bus top heavy

i sit there thinking that it might tip over

but the little monster

keeps screaming

his teen mother keeping saying “hush”

only she’s laughing

with her teen mother friends

provoking the little monster

i watch this pint-sized abomination as he screams

howling until his face turns red

as he stops, smiles, and looks around for encouragement

as more people flee the back of the bus

i think of taking him gently by the shoulder

telling the little fucker

all about the horrors of the work week

and what i’ll do to him

if he keeps up this screaming shit

only i don’t think it’ll go over too well

with his teenaged mother

her teen mom friends

or their assortment of tattooed boyfriends

drinking cans of beer out of paper bags

i don’t have the strength to take them all on tonight

so like everyone else

i move toward the crowded front of the bus

i put on mozart’s piano sonata number twelve

but i can still hear the little monster

as he screams and screams and screams

as his proud parents laugh and laugh and laugh

and another dreadful evening

gets recorded into the books.