On the Bridge
spiders are spinning
silver thread
through my hair
the crows have landed
on my face
mashing their feet
relentlessly
as if they were in a barrel
mashing grapes
internal stress has depleted
the reserves
everything preserved
for consumption
causes inflammation
yay
all the storms
have broken
the bearings
of a body
that once
ran rings
round the sun
and could hold
a whale’s breath
under water
and prowl like a panther
at night
and roar like a lion
when need be
and sleep sound
like a spent child
and wake refreshed
and renewed
like a teenager
still boundlessly
beautiful
and blissfully unaware
without a care
or a clue
when everything’s still
brand new
nobody gets the whole cake
we all crumble
at some point
in time
propped up
to listen to the band
play
‘ya only get
so much
fore it’s taken
away
and the hoarders
hold tight
don’t give up
without a fight
and it’s Christmas
in a bad economy
food and gas
and daycare
the rent
the mortgage
the car
the insurance
all the bills
and don’t forget
the taxes
are due
and working parents
still need daycare
and school kids
still need supplies
and teachers still don’t get paid
nearly enough
like police and fire and EMS
and nobody listens
to good advice
‘til they’re good and ready
or ‘til the doctor tells ‘em so
eat right and exercise
limit stress and sugar and salt
and if it’s processed
it ain’t fer you
but what do ‘ya do
when even the fruit and vegetables
are recalled
now ‘ya gotta be a farmer
in this world
who has time
for that
getting by
that’s what people are doing
right now
jest getting by
and the dirt poor
who were already poor
before the Pandemic
say welcome to my world
and the ultra rich
who were ultra rich
before the Pandemic
say everything’s just fine
stop worrying ‘bout it
worrying causes wrinkles
here have some Botox
and if ‘ya can’t feel your face
well that’s jest a side effect
all drugs have side effects
here take this
here take that
wait what happened
to her
wait what happened
to him
but she was so young
but he was so young
poor problems are rich problems
and rich problems are poor problems
just on different scales
which weighs more
which weighs less
TL