FAT AND FORTY

                        So, here we are -

                        Those who outgrew

                             the fervent fantasies

                             of the young half-poets,

                        And survived

                             the hard rain

                             that never fell.

                        We had the key

                             to freedom’s gate

                             and pawned it,

                             in our undue haste

                             to avoid becoming pawns…

                        Already we have lived too long,

                             and sit here

                             wondering where to go and what to be,

                        In a world whose purpose

                             has passed us by.

                        Heaven fell;

                             and we didn’t notice

                        Until the angels cast us out

                             and made the world their own.

                             *                  *                 *

                        To you who now rule the future,

                             I give you three clues:

                             Faith without reason

                             An empty belly

                             And a broken key.

                        Take the torch and pass it on,

                        For you in turn must become as we.

                        THREE SAD THINGS

                        A homeless homing pigeon;

                        A tuneless humming bird;

                        An old and foolish guru

                        Whose words are never heard.