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It’s not wake up, brush my teeth,
look in the mirror and pinch my fat.
It’s not check the weather on my cel.
It’s not get dressed, take a statin pill
and an adult multivitamin.
It’s not make a tuna fish sandwich
with extra mayonnaise, packed with a V8
and three chocolate cookies for lunch.
It’s not take out the garbage
and drive ten kilometers in heavy traffic to work.
It’s not switch the radio station five times.
It’s not stop for gas.
It’s not make a pot of coffee,
pour a cup, one sugar.
It’s not text the plumber
that I have the cash I owe him.
It’s not answer emails,
and make a deal on the phone.
It’s not make a buck
to put some away for retirement.
It’s not check my news feed
and wonder if any of it is believable.
It’s not get angry
at the corruption, scandal, inhumanity.
It’s not drink a second cup of coffee, one sugar.
It’s not eat my tuna fish sandwich
and wonder if I’m getting enough protein.
It’s not finish the quarterly sales report,
a week past deadline.
It’s not avoid the boss.
It’s not check my news feed again,
and rage, again.
It’s not fantasize about having sex
with a cute coworker.
It’s not think about visiting
my sick brother this weekend.
It’s not sit in a management meeting
and take a few notes.
It’s not pay my daughter’s school tuition online.
It’s not wonder if I’m wasting my life.
It’s not slip out of work early.
What I will accomplish today
is write a poem.
4 comments:
Nothing is really important, except poetry. I am in agreement. Why we spend most of our time doing other things is indeed an excellent question.
I wonder if ‘unimportant’ is the word I would use. In a sense I don’t think ‘accomplishing’ is the same as ‘important’. Most of our day, in fact most of our life, is spent accomplishing all kinds of things. Usually by necessity. So there’s an irony to this poem I think.
So ... are you saying that writing poetry is just another task on your checklist of daily tasks?
In a sense precisely so. And it’s the only one on the list I actually find meaningful. But I would not use the word ‘important’ because in a sense it’s all important. In fact so important that they form the content of the poem so they are necessary to the poem itself.
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