Wisdom from the Top of a Filing Cabinet

I believe ballplayers move like symphony song.
This smile will name no hunger under home sky.
She is hurting my thirsty heart.
Water grows you up.
Rhythm filling me—
Need to fly.

Buy Some Land! Buy Some Land!...

A dealer who goes by Ill Kenny,

Whose rims cost him a beautiful penny,

Parked his customized Caddy

Near an ambitious laddy.

Where he had rims, he hasn't got any.

There but for the Grace of God

There once was a teacher of rot

Who said things that he later forgot.

He read his quoted word

In a paper absurd

and remarked “I like this one a lot!”

The Whole—and Nothing But

I can't quite testify in a court of law

That one year my friend lived on nothing but slaw.

I'm unable to swear on my mother's grave

That I remember every last gift that I gave.

I can't place my hand on the Good Book (or even one that's just okay)

While I tell the story of my biggest Bueller day.

I can't take an oath and tell before a judge

That I drove clear 'cross the country pursuing a grudge,

But cross my heart and hope to die,

I'm not the kind to tell a lie;

I'm a bard.

Refreshing

I suppose I must just not be civilized.

Those few moments that most people prize

Are on my list as just another chore.

I don't care to be clean; I care that my morning or

My evening has a hole in the middle, gored.

I only care that I'm bored.

Living Up To My Ideals

I should have all my grades in, but some work was late.
I should be ready to teach, but I made a mistake.
I should do this better; there's just too much at stake.
I should be grading, but I needed a break.
I should be planning, but I needed my break.
I should enjoy my alone time, but I can't stay awake.

Judgy Juries and Executioners

I'm not even in yet, but soon I'll go out
To face my firing squad, and my doubts.
Sidelong glances from snide eyes explain
Exactly what's wrong with my heart and my brain.
I guess I could change; I guess I could hide;
I guess I could freeze up until I can't think,
But I was born in a snowbank, and raised in the Arctic.
They'll never scare me inside.