Monday, May 20, 2013

poem of the day 05.20.13


my only parade

the people who stand there in the rain
seem like aliens to me

because they are the same ones
who will ordinarily run through a thunder storm
seeking shelter
to get out of this kind of weather

but there they are with umbrellas
and garbage bag clothing
taking pictures and smiling their sunday asses off

well-meaning fools looking to be entertained
while i drink beer and eat grilled cheese inside a bar

easily amused masses
watching water-logged majorettes and horses give them a show

clapping and bobbing as fleets of fireman and cops
walk down the saturated streets saluting

as city council people come crawling down avenues
waving miniature american flags like vote pledges
in slick muscle cars from fifty years ago

christ, it seems so idiotic to waste one’s time this way

i went to a parade years ago

my only parade

a st. patrick’s day parade in pittsburgh
and i got in the head with a green bagel
thrown by none other than ronald mcdonald

hell, bagels aren’t even on the menu at mcdonald’s

that about did it for me

i figure people walk
up and down the streets here every day
derelicts walk into traffic with their pants down all of the time

and the cops and the fireman
are always racing after one disaster or another

but no one stands and watches any of this shit
except for me

my own parade of the damned
any time that i want it

only i’ll give these people the majorettes and the horses

now that
that you just don’t see every day

unless you live in disneyland.

                                                

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