Getting serious

You do your best to get a grasp on things:

Hölderlin’s poetry, trimming your own bangs,

pitching a trekking pole tent, the Ukraine situation, etc.

Action is difficult. That is, living

the idea into the real, into

the realm of dirt and blood and heat

and eyes and money, is difficult,

so you’d rather write about it.

But how?

I do believe things could be better,

more beautiful, more spirited, less

senseless, perhaps more tragic,

and I have a few ideas about Christ

& Capital & the lives we live...

Neighbor, fellow stranger, lady

behind me in the checkout line,

I would like to get to know you better.

We could talk about those things that truly

affect the lives of those who, like you & I,

live here, those who, including you & I,

suffer. We could make a go of it, see

what holy mess we might get ourselves into

in a game of red rover local politics...

Then again, I would very much also

like not to know and try such things.

Do you follow the NBA?

Do you enjoy the paintings of John Marin?

Southern gothic literature? Not my forte, but...

Anyway, y’all should come over sometime.

We’ll have a beer and watch a game,

or drink scotch and talk shop,

or sip sweet tea and listen to the birds...

I might just spend the evening alone.

I’ve had a long day and am very tired.

I make myself a turkey sandwich

with mustard and pickles and spicy cheese.

Around 11 or so, feeling lonely,

I pop some kettlecorn, put on a movie

and scroll through my Twitter feed.

Looks like the situation in Ukraine

is getting serious...