poem of the day 06.21.13

miguel

on the bus i listen to mellencamp

but mellencamp does nothing for me

he makes me feel old

besides i can’t hear him over miguel’s wailing

i’m tired

i’m beat from five nights

without any real sleep

and a job that just won’t quit

as miguel slams his fists on the seat next to me

i’m probably getting laid off

i’ll probably be on food stamps by this time next month

while miguel slaps his thighs

and screams so loud the goddamned bus driver

swerves and almost kills us all

i have sore legs

sore knees

my hair is getting gray all over

and in mirrors it looks as though i’ve gotten fatter

still miguel pounds on the window

and continues crying with reckless abandon

i probably won’t see fifty

the way i eat and drink

i have insomnia on my best nights

and having a pet does not calm me

but miguel gets up and starts running around the bus

putting his snot on everything

this world is going to hell

it’s either one-hundred degrees

or the flood waters rage

as i sit there watching miguel’s mother

chase him around the bus

trying to buy the kid off with boxed fruit drinks and toys

yeah, a lot of shit is bad

we’re all one mass suicide

only we don’t know it

but at least none of us are miguel’s mother today

cooing sweet words into that huffing beast’s ear

while apologizing to a row of strangers for his antics

begging him not to throw another tantrum

because being that bitch

trumps all the other misery right now.