A river of black espresso
drips off my bed. I have been waiting
for a long time…
drip
drip
rhymes, won’t get it done
crying, those caffeine tears
into my pillow.
I can’t sleep.
This neighborhood, isn’t bad
even though
magic
might be found
behind the mountains.
Mortgage interest rates increase
The Economy goes bad
A smart man would do something
but I don’t want to evolve.
I’m a stubborn fish
that won’t
walk
for fear of being a fish out-of-water.
My pond gets polluted
the algae die
the water becomes salty
it begins
to dry
I might die
slowly,
in my environment
I don’t want to escape
institutionalized
Writing
for some imaginary hope.
My friend is trying to make life work-out for him
while he, works-out
in the gym, with perfect body
at last
and
30-something women with tattoos
staring at his muscles
with lust
but he is too pure
His plan is too perfect
a 23-year-old girl
a cushy tech job for the government
a reunion with family
a real estate empire.
He has been trying and failing for a year
I am one with the Tao—I don’t believe in trying
Somehow, I see the people with their big houses
large salaries, five kids, short vacations
to Barbados
and lifestyles
that all seem stressful.
Nobody is staring at me
My favorite things are free
good books
good company
and no dirty looks.
If you have to wade through the swamp
to get to green fields,
I don’t know… It might be worth it
But there is always another swamp
to wade through.
Most people are swamp people
They spend half of their time in the swamp
to get to where they want to be.
What if, there is no place to be?
To be?
or not to be?
No time to be, anything.
We are chasing the wind
unable to appreciate
where we are.
Ambition, is the slave-driver of humanity
We drive ourselves
insane
on the road
to endless destinations.
As for me, there is nothing more satisfying
than a good story.
My character
is not where I’m going
it’s who I want to be.
Intellectual Shaman 
Cleverly done, Andy! Really liked it!
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Thanks Harshi! 🙂
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Excellent.
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Thanks Aaron!
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Brilliant. In my experience, ambition is a waste if effort.
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Yes–sometimes, we have to be ambitious and get places we don’t want to go, before we realize that we want to be somewhere else.
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Nice cadence 🐉
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Thanks, Wild Thistle!!! I like your name, by the way.
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Very nice😊
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Thanks, SRT News Admin!!!
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😊🙏
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Absolutely! I developed skills which I now use elsewhere doing what I love. So maybe ambition isn’t so useless after all
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It’s life. I’m surprised what I’ve used along the way… Nothing is wasted.
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Some many nuggets of poetic truth to chew on here! The last fourteen lines stood out the most to me, right after the Hamlet allusion. Bravo!
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Thanks v. anastasi!!! I’m glad my poetry stood up. Now, it’s time to make it run around the room! 🙂 Cheers!
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I really liked the way it flowed – and the way it ended. 🙂
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Thanks Melody!!! I’m glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂
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