Optimism

Is like a grumpy neighbor

You never see

But know is watching you

All hours of the night

Optimism

Is for people with a pulse

Who are patient

And long-suffering

And steadfast

Optimism

Has always been a friend

But today is merely algae

Barely alive and covering

Smothered and comatose

What does it feel like

And what is it

Why does it crush

And step on with sadness

Why does it aggravate

And churn and bubble

I hate it

I hate it’s faithfulness

I hate it’s grip

I hate it’s bite

The apostle

Always tastes opportunity

He gags himself with it

She approaches every corner with glee

And it is there and it is there and it is there

And when the disappointment is thick

Opportunity rings a bell

And the soul snaps awake

And any renegade worth their salt

Finds the floor

Finds the door

Finds the first hint

Of triumph

And drives hard

Stare down

Focus on the pebbles

All dusty – all shiny

Blistering heat

And not much will

So picking one

From all the others

Doesn’t seem to matter

And too many times

I manage to pinch

The thumb and the forefinger

Around the lucky winner

But the journey

To stand up

Straighten up

With any measure of hope

Is just too much

Dropped pebble

Dropped dream

You don’t know how lucky you are

And you don’t know how lucky you are

And you, you don’t know how lucky you are

And isn’t that just the window tint of it all

Cause for you, and you, and also you

It’s much sunnier than you know, Man!

It’s not the bleak planet you suppose

It’s not the bleak planet you say you know

It’s not – not even a little bit

Not even a little

Sprint to the filament of open hands

He did not love first

He was love

Lie on lily pads wide and round

He did not love first

He was love

Climb low to middle earth warm

He did not love first

He was love

Be honored in hearing all the chapters

He did not love first

He was love

Stir it inside til you have been made new

He did not love first

He was love

Listen to me

At mom’s table

Find me there

Less sure

And simply less

Pass around

The lemonade pie

And just

Let me listen

And observe

If it’s ok

Don’t ask me

Anything

And know that

I do love

And I do care

And I am not

Better than

Or higher than

Or more noble

In truth

I’ve never

Thought this

I’m merely

Looking for

Anything familiar

Or similar

Sniffing the air

For hints of home

The tank top fell off

Landed on the dead man

Then the calendar

If you look closely

You can see a bull’s eye

On every date

Crunch through the snow

For several winters

And everyone still asks

Am I to blame

Peace to your window
Unrest at the door
I wish you a long stay
In a rather large home

Horses and dogs
To eat from your hand
Or whatever it is
That carries you

A blend of your songs
And snippets of your script
With hot tea and toast
And plenty of time for naps

I’ll hem you in with interest
And make you a quilt from curiosity
I’ll ask the questions that prove
I am home and you are home

If I’m wrong
Everyone is much more
Of a victim
Than I can see
Cause it quite seems like
Behavior to behavior
Behavior to behavior

If I’m wrong
Everyone is much more
Hoodwinked
Than is observable
And perhaps exempt from
Behavior to behavior
Behavior to behavior

If I’m wrong
Everyone is much more
A marionette
Worked from above
And strung along from
Behavior to behavior
Behavior to behavior

If I’m wrong
Everyone is much more
Like their mollycoddled-self
Allowed to dress unsupervised
And plod about from
Behavior to behavior
Behavior to behavior

If I’m wrong
Everyone is much more
Capable of refusing
To kiss the clown’s ring
Thereby condemning
Behavior to behavior
Behavior to behavior

If I’m wrong
Everyone is much more
The prisoner of something
With teeth and length
And a tag-a-long born from
Behavior to behavior
Behavior to behavior