you have taken something and made it yours,
but it never belonged to you in the first place
if you can eat well
and sleep well
and do the thing that gives you hope
if you can listen to the sane
and not go insane
and hear the wisdom
they wouldn’t dare share
with anyone else
if you can spot the falseness
even when there is more of it
than what’s real
and not become false
yourself
if you can wait patiently
not heeding the encouragement
or discouragement
your time dies
but you live on.
I haven’t made a fortune yet
and I hardly think I have the constitution
for it
but making money from words
is magic
I mean, who pays someone for talking
but wait…
there are teachers
politicians
and the women who seduce rich men for money
Again,
I guess there are poets too.
I always wanted to make a living
doing something impractical
I thought, “I’ll just let someone tell me their problems.”
And later I thought, “I’ll just write some words down.”
Neither have worked the way I hoped they would
But I guess I’m not surprised
My friend solves math problems
for a living
that nobody understands
and I guess we’re not that different
the material world doesn’t add up
and mostly, I think about the friends I’ve lost
they’re more valuable than gold
especially when you meet the fools
pedaling the false stuff.
Now, I have people reading my writing
like lawyers or pharisees
or psychologists
with bad intentions
you know who you are
but I change so often
I don’t know myself
and it was
and is
just a beautiful dream.
