It's hard to crawl out of a bar
     When everyone keeps
    Stomping on your hands

the visiting speaker is at the end
of a brave, unconventional lesson
on self-esteem and confidence
"Does anyone in this class think
he or she is stupid?
Stand up anyone
who thinks he or she is stupid"

the seconds tick away;
there is no response
and then little Tommy stands up
and the guest speaker says:
"Do you stand up because
you think you are stupid,  Tommy? "

"No, sir," replies Tommy
*"I just feel sorry to see
you standing alone"

1)
I have long wondered
of the tri- in trickery
(those of you privy
to the arcane secrets of etymology
will know
tri- is three, as in trinity
and triple and trivium)
and so I have many aeons meditated
on the 3 in trickery

2)
and recently
on a trip (what’s the 3 in trip?)
to the University
of Matters Ancient and Abstruse
I uncovered this manuscript
that reveals all the 3 in Trickery:

“It behooves him who will master Trickery
to attach himself to a Teacher
so he may be Trained
(which is the first of the 3)

And so he may be Trimmed in thought
to focus on the act entirely
(thus the second of the 3)

And last comes the Treat
wherein the thief Treats himself
to the victim’s property;
and thus in these 3 stages
do the cunning ever shift
into their own pockets
that which belongs to the unwary”

3)
And thus, dear readers, was the mystery
of the 3 in trickery
resolved for me
as I hope it is for you;
but you might now want to see
if the money is still in your digital wallet
for - keeping you distracted,
and unknown to you  -
I have just practiced all 3 in Trickery

well, my friend got a role
in a movie  (it should have been me -
but that's another story)
and, all proud and puffed up,  he told his dad:
"Dad, I got a role
in a movie: I play a man
who's been married 25 years"

And his dad told him
right up to his face:
*"Keep at it, son -
you might end up
with a speaking role some day"

It doesn't matter whether or not
the glass is half empty or half full.
what matters,
is the substance that is being poured out.
and who are we to say,
that a man can't walk on four legs.
Someday, our labour will turn to dust.
ashes.
The world still revolves,
and no one will wait for you.
The sun will rise in the east
and sets in the west,
whether or not you can get out of bed.
The time you spend dwelling on a matter that won't so much affect you in 10 years, will fly like dandelion seeds.
There is nothing romantic about how the sea will never stop kissing shore,
no matter how many times it is sent away.
If someone wants you in their life,
they'll tell you.

( FAH )

always wanted a part
in a film
so I asked a director if he'd give me a break
and the director told me: "Break a leg"
and I thought he'd meant me to get
experience for a disaster movie
(sort of Stanislavsky's method acting)
so I did

but I never got a part;
the director just laughed and waved me away -
but at least I was in the cast for weeks

I am now
attached at the thumbs
connected through the fingertips
it thinks for me
navigates for me
reads the minds of others to my face
it is a lens
through which I have access to an invisible world that no one can see
unless they have a prosthetic limb like me

do you remember fruit roll-ups?
i do, too
though that is completely irrelevant
(and i think they were called fruit by the foot, now that i think about it)

i guess im avoiding talking about serious problems
because i don't even know how to solve them
i am my own jigsaw puzzle with a jugular
so i cant mess up

do you remember ever choosing your first grade teacher?
or whether or not to learn your timestables?

i never had a choice in that
i was never really informed

but i conformed myself to their insanity, anyway

do you remember choosing what clothes to wear to school?
i did do that, at least

but now i'm staring at a list of choices that adults get to make
and i realize
i never really learned how to think for myself

i never learned to make decisions