Morning Prayer

Thank you, Lord, for this glorious day

there isn't much for which I’ll pray:

just guide my steps so I won't stumble

and when I do, help me stay humble;

may I look upon my brother’s face

without contempt, but rather, grace;

help me, Lord, lose the desire

for things that would me make a liar;

guard my children and my spouse,

bring them safely back to my house;

in every instance, may I stay grateful

may my actions and words, never be hateful;

may everything I say and do

demonstrate I belong to you;

this life is a gift I can never repay,

so thank you, Lord, for this glorious day.

[Written for #OpenLinkNight - at www.dversepoets.com - come share your poetry!]

Male Socialization (for Roy Levosh)

Don’t oversleep
don’t curse the alarm clock
don’t wake up the others

don’t go to work without shaving
don’t wear that tie with those pants
don’t leave without kissing her goodbye

don’t drive like a maniac
don’t get in an accident
don’t be late to the office

don’t be unproductive
don’t go to non-work-related websites
don’t daydream about sex

don’t skip lunch
don’t eat any trans fats
don’t talk to any other guys at the urinal

don’t be unprepared for your meeting
don’t tell your boss what you really think
don’t leave until after the boss does

don’t forget to call and ask if she needs anything
don’t bring your work home with you
don’t ignore the kids

don’t take it out on the kids
don’t fight it if she wants to take a walk after dinner
don’t hog the remote

don’t go to bed without taking a shower
don’t forget she needs foreplay
don’t knead her breasts like dough

don’t come too soon
don’t come before she does
don’t roll over and fall asleep as soon as you’re finished

don’t fall asleep if she wants to talk
don’t leave the tv on all night
don’t forget to say your prayers.

[Posted for #MeetingTheBar - List Poetry @www.dversepoets.com - where poetlove floweth freely!]

Underestimated

When I decided
to have sex with
the married psychobitch,

I rationalized it
by saying:

it's no big deal,
it happens everyday,
and if I got caught
I would just
deny it.

What I underestimated
is that
cruel selfishness,
demolished marriages,
and impassioned death threats,
also happen everyday
and it was
a big deal,

so enormous
and unquestionable

that,
when cornered,
I couldn't deny it.

[Written for #OpenLinkNight @ www.dversepoets.com - where you can love you some poetry!]

The Sex Machine Speaks

The headline accused:
How Big is the Average Penis?

My defensiveness recast it:
How Average is the Big Penis?

Remember:

the smaller
try harder.

[Soupy Sales Format: 25 Words or Less.]

http://www.alternet.org/sex-amp-relationships/how-big-average-penis-you-might-be-surprised

Shame

Something she said
shook loose the memory
and it fell at my feet,
like rancid cigarettes
from a vending machine
dispensing shame,

and I hated being its hostage,
and it took everything in my power
not to steal a Xanax
from my daughter's stash
because the thoughts kept
parading by
with predictable circus mockery
and I prayed for God
to just take me right then
and I wept softly
because He didn’t,
my back to her
so she’d never see.

I learned early on
some are
cherry picked
for love because
they were
born right,

and perhaps Jesus
is just the story
the rest of us tell ourselves
to make it easier
to live with
the dispassionate fact:

some are born
to be loved
and the rest of us are born
to earn it.

[Written and posted for #OpenLinkNight at www.dversepoets.com - come along and share your heart.]

Prick First, Saint Second

If you want to be a great artist
you’ve got to be
a prick first
and a saint second.

You must be willing
to gamble
it all for your art:
your kids,
your wife,
your security.

If the dice fall right,
and you pull
the fourth ace,
you'll be rewarded
with the fame
the adulation
the money
the lovers
each offering themselves up
as blank checks waiting for
your endorsement.

When you've reached
your limit,
and when even
your own excesses
repulse you,

then you'll have
The Epiphany,
and you will
renounce it all
for the simple life:

you'll have
that second family,
where you will become
the devoted father,
the unabashed and
unapologetic husband,

and with your
newly proclaimed
inner peace,

you will denounce
all those things
that the prick loved-
the trappings of this world -
that now seem so petty
so temporal,
so vulgar,

but you will still have
your exciting memories
and a sizable nest egg
in the bank.

If I were smart
I would have been
a prick first,
and a saint second,
because
if I try to be
a great artist now,
I’d just end up
looking like
a prick.

[Posted for  #OpenLinkNight at www.dversepoets.com- a little bit of heaven right at your fingertips!]

Independence Day, One Day Early (July 3, 1994)

Ironically,

the day before I left

was one of the

best days

of our marriage.

(Maybe she already knew

how the trial separation

was going to end.)

Like comrades celebrating

before heading off

to battle,

we laughed,

we ate,

we stayed up late talking,

not wanting to see

past that evening,

because I suspected

the next day

would be our last.

That Sunday morning

we lingered in bed,

silent, save for the

radio whispering

painfully naive

love songs;

neither one of us

wanted to be

the first one

to start the day.

Finally,

I inhaled, got up,

and wordlessly began

collecting my things.

(Thankfully,

we didn’t acquire

very much community property

during this four month

failed experiment.)

She got up

and began preparing

herself

to go to work

(she wasn’t fooling me,

I knew she was going

to see him).

I almost made it

out the door,

when the radio played

our wedding song.

Neither of us cried,

we just found each other

and hugged

until it was over,

and I whispered

“maybe this

will only be

for a little while,”

and that was

the last comforting lie

I told myself

that season.

(For dversepoets.com - where I find my poetic oasis in this wasteland called the internet.]