A Poem for the 20th Century Man Stuck in the 21st Century

When you're stuck in a hole
and you've no where to stay
and the light isn't on
to show you the way

when there's no more to try
and there's none left to kiss
on the road that's less traveled
there is no more than this

to be left all alone
with a pen in your hand
and the flag on the mailbox
has no place to stand

so it glides through the mirror
with a triumphant cry
and you beg to escape
from the screams and the sighs

but the bog keeps on lickin'
the rope keeps on slippin'
the mist is a-blowin'
the water is drippin

from the cup of your mind
too broken to fill
and if you cannot fill it
insanity will

so your consciousness slumps
and your eyesight implodes
into eight burrowed tunnels
where your confidence froze

so you drift into vapor
and sink into sand
where your breath disappears
in the palm of your hand.

If there's one thing to take away from life it's the socks they give out on airlines, because it's the one thing they won't ask for back.


by Kevin Christensen