don't feel sorry for me.
I am a competent,
satisfied human being.

be sorry for the others
who
fidget
complain

who
constantly
rearrange their
lives
like
furniture.

juggling mates
and
attitudes

their
confusion is
constant

and it will
touch
whoever they
deal with.

beware of them:
one of their
key words is
"love."

and beware those who
only take
instructions from their
God

for they have
failed completely to live their own
lives.

don't feel sorry for me
because I am alone

for even
at the most terrible
moments
humor
is my
companion.

I am a dog walking
backwards

I am a broken
banjo

I am a telephone wire
strung up in
Toledo, Ohio

I am a man
eating a meal
this night
in the month of
September.

put your sympathy
aside.
they say
water held up
Christ:
to come
through
you better be
nearly as
lucky.

Make your choices
Make them well
Make them firm
And do not dwell

The crevice beckons
Gaping wide
The patience and moral
Of time and tide

Subtle hints to change your mind
Breaking passion in its prime
Gentle nudges, slight whispers
Slow steps, slyness sublime

Pave the way, set in stone
Bleeding thorns, satisfying rose
Brighten path, shining through
Awaken from your long repose

So walk the plank
They’ll tell you all
For the blinding light
At the end of it all

Another mile
Another day
Another hour

Without your smile
Without your face
Without your heart

We’re moving too fast
Running through a storm
Of desire and lust

Look upon us now
Breaking the rules, and how

Flashbacks galore echo in my mind
A blast of pretty colours
But only in the Polaroid

Everyone’s telling us to slow down
To back off
Give it a rest, pick it up some other time

But who are they to tell us what to do?
Who are they to tell us how to live?

I’m taking the risk, diving in headfirst
Confident and in love we are
Shun the rest of the world
Shut them out

Hit the brakes too early
And now we’re crashing
We’re falling down
Sprawling out in the snow

We broke the rules
But it was worth it
Worth it every time
We’ve got a lifetime of memories to show

ignore all possible concepts and possibilities ---
ignore Beethoven, the spider, the damnation of Faust ---
just make it, babe, make it:
a house  a car   a belly full of beans
pay your taxes
****
and if you can't ****
copulate.
make money but don't work too
hard --- make somebody else pay to
make it --- and
don't smoke too much but drink enough to
relax, and
stay off the streets
wipe your *** real good
use a lot of toilet paper
it's bad manners to let people know you **** or
could smell like it
if you weren't
careful