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What a weird sight,
on the other end of Nokia's snake.

Trapped in a car between 9th and 28th from north to south,
for a wild troop of humans.

What's a 10k, if we boil it down to biology?
There's nothing **** here,
no reproductive purposes.

Still, 55 thousand people line up and run 10k,
maybe to prove they can.
Like the way we collect guns,
or write poetry,
or hit our children,
or eat deer.

We prove to ourselves we're half animal still.
Archaic is a word
we're yet to learn
on our job evaluations.
The first page of a new notebook
And the first sip of
Nascent ink
Deserve so much more
Than a scribbling man
On a stranger's latrine.
You reverberate through yourself
While you pull meat from your teeth
And squeeze fruit
On aisle 2
Or braid your daughter's hair
while ******* your neighbor
Or pray in tounges
To cut in line
For a $10 cover charge heaven
I won't get into.
1997
the roots of my family tree
are shallow and malnourished,
breaking through the Earth's skin as a reminder
that it cannot always keep the ugly
hidden underneath.
my DNA is a life sentence for a crime
I never wanted to commit.

1999
my father called my brother a king
before he even left the womb.
a solar eclipse that has lasted years
because of my inability to escape his shadow;
though, I'm not sure I ever will.
the world will always be his stage,
and I, just a poorly constructed backdrop.

2005
my skin has turned
black and blue back into flesh.
I hope, one day,
my mind takes a lesson from my body
and learns how to forget you.

2011
they call him the all merciful god,
and I can't help but to laugh,
because the only thing he promised
to those who hurt me was forgiveness.
I prayed up until the day
god changed his phone number.
atheism is a learned behavior;
I only wonder when god stopped
believing in me.

2015
I live my life in reverse.
I drink coffee at midnight,
read the epilogues first,
go to bed in the morning.
I spent my childhood in this grave,
now it is time to dig myself out.
 Aug 2016 Richard L Ratliff
NV
BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES IN LIFE,
I HAVE WOKEN UP,
AND SOMEBODY WASN'T THERE.
SO MUCH SO,
THAT EVENTUALLY I STOPPED WANTING TO WAKE UP AT ALL.
SO YES,
YES I'M STILL AFRAID TO FALL ASLEEP AT NIGHT,
AND I'M AFRAID TO LOVE,
ESPECIALLY TO LOVE.
I'm having tea with Life,
And his band of Disappointments.
They dine at my expense,
And they're a hungry bunch of guests.

Tea turned into Supper,
Where the Disappointments drank
My finest wine,
And Life wiped his cruel mouth
On my tablecloth.

You can't have supper without dessert,
So they ate up more of my
Food for thought.
And if you stay for dessert,
You may as well spend the night.
So they did
And burgled my pantry of hopes
For a midnight snack.

One night was lovely,
So Life cackled, "Why not stay two?"
And two turned to a week,
And a week turned into
My sickeningly merry guests
Moving into my dreams,
And inviting in Doubt,
To live with them too,
And of course
Pay no rent.

So I watch my chaotic household
Of a skull,
Where Life has made himself at home
And brought all of his friends.
I stare dully at my ruined
Dining room of thought,
Which they have dominated.
And look wearily for a spare idea
In my raided cupboards.

I've never been one
To evict friends,
So I suppose they're here to stay.
But learn a lesson from me,
And don't ever
Have Life over for tea.
People are like shampoo brands.

They have flashy labels,
And colorful packaging,
They list their qualities upfront,
And what they're really made of
Where they hope
No one
Will see.

Shampoo says it goes best
With its matching conditioner,
And we all like to think
Someone else will make us better,
Make us sexier.
Hair products give instructions,
And we're all conditioned
To believe them.

I've never payed attention
To ingredients,
Only read the positive label,
But now I'm finding out what people
Are really made of,
And I'm now looking
For something more natural.

But what about me?
When you leave out the dye
And the bubbles
What am I made of?
I feel like an unknown trade secret,
And you don't even
Want
To know what they put in those.

I've found myself
Comparing brands lately
And I feel like my own falls short.
I feel like a cheap knock off
Masked as main brand...

But am I really fooling anyone?
My  paper  man  retires  soon.
The  thought  of  it  fills  me  with  gloom.

I'll  miss  him  so  on  Monday  nights.
The  time  we  put  the  world  to  rights.

We  talked  of  war  and  peace  and  drugs.
Of  bygone  days  before  the  thugs.

He  came  in  wind  and  rain  and  hail.
With  a  treasury  of  fascinating  tales.

He's  seventy  now  it's  time  to  part.
But  I'll  hold  him  close  within  my  heart.

He's  worked  so  hard  he  deserves  a  rest.
In  this  mad  world  he's  been  the  best.

The  years  will  pass  I'll  not  forget.
His  happy  smile  will  linger  yet.

Happy  retirement  Mr  Brown.
A  true  friendship  I  have  found.

Keith  Wilson.  Windermere.  UK.  2016.
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