you are ridiculous, it doesn't
matter who you are; in fact, the better
off and the higher the
reach, the more ridiculous,
though you can't always help it, can't
help the luck of your birth, the happenstance
of who your parents were, or the country
you sprang from; second
you must look at yourself and all
your secret vanities, the tiny elevations
you rewarded yourself because you deserved it,
you earned it, you worked so hard, you lost
so much, you did every thing you could,
it was for the best, you were only taking a break,
and dammit every word you said
was always mostly true.
the tricky part is step three
so much like the trust game
you lean so far inwards you get behind yourself
and the shadow play you put on
for yourself and others falls in a heap
all around you and your left in a jumble
of sticks and rags and brittle bones
and that little pen light, and
you see it now, how small you are and how
large that background sheet really is
and you shouldn't be able to help it but laugh at yourself.
