To laugh is to love,
So start with a smile,
A memory, a friend,
The birth of a child.

Yes sadness and worry,
Death comes in a hurry,
But courage must stand,
And laughter commands

this is the last time
I lose sleep over you

the last time
my dreams don't come true

cause I'm done
making other people happy

stop stealing my joy
you don't have power over me

I'm giving you a yellow page
so tape it to your face

this is my final notice
the rest of you I erase

Many times we find
ourselves wading
through trash

to get to the treasure
and hope we can brave
the stench

and the muck
but most days
we quit when we are

three feet from the gold

I couldn't pass up
writing about a street
in LA about a couple

blocks shy of Hollywood
the most notable landmark
or loadstone

being
the Pink ***** Cat
theater

but with that said
I don't want this to be
about

the grit of urban life
too much of that has been
already chronicled

and maybe we should just
let the old man rest

my destination is more
meta

like how sometimes
the moon's nose is just inside
the tent

Whit Howland © 2020