from this week in May, 2009  (I was 64)

 

The United States is falling apart

because I am falling apart

and I don’t think I’m going to get much better

I think about but do not sustain an effort

to regain physical fitness

I look at books that propose to redirect us

I don’t believe the matter is in the reader’s hands

Relationships are cold chipped and cracked

held together by homeostasis and habit

Like my country I don’t do much good

without expectation of better in return

Like me the country doesn’t travel well

We take way too much of our stuff with us

whenever we go someplace else

No place much better off for my being there

I’m inept at home repair

Hire someone who needs a job

later someone who can actually do it

Spend way too much money on stuff

we promise we will never use

Keep it in deep basements across the country

that cost more to maintain

than all the homes in my hometown

Officially we call it homeland security

I call it fear  Bill collectors at the door