He knew knot
Exactly where
He was going
As fate would have it
Seized by easy convictions
Big house
Auto, pilot
And every won else’s
Re-guard
Of one self full
Filled
Buy in
And sell out
In humanity
A sure thing
The gold
In rule
A void
Apprehensions
Of vassal late
Making one’s self
The whore of certain knowledge
The john of dreams undared
Unfailing in his coarse
Fining himself
Scared to dearth
Of his constipated destiny meting
This poem deals with the vanity and danger of pursuing material success and cashing in on conventional wisdom. The good life is all too often pawned off as having fine possessions or relishing in status or celebrity. Possessions have a way of possessing us. In a world where so many have so little, fine possessions can be devilish. Status or celebrity has a way of simply highlighting our own emptiness or hypocrisy in a pressurized or scrutinized existence. Fine possessions and status are typically acquired through the successful use (and misuse) of conventional wisdom, or simply through unmerited privilege. Albeit, celebrity sometimes comes through more notorious means. Still, we all know where this leads: the well-worn hierarchies of winners and losers. In a constipated destiny, everyone knows their place. Predictability (sometimes better known as ‘security’) and fatalism serve as poor substitutes for true daring and bold hope. Well-worn rules (and rulers) of the game leave little but cheap thrills and expensive highs to assuage our stultified lives. The bulk of our lives are leased for weekends. Passionate vocations are bartered for passing vacations. Awe sold for certainty. Dreams pimped for fear of being a sucker, or worse. May you live a life where you are not scared to dearth, settling for mere material finery or tranquilizing status, a constipated destiny, or hellish blandness. May you follow your dreams in a way that literally scares the hell out of others!
