December 1, 2004

slammy and political and bears? o my!

By Tony Brown

I Am Tired Of You

I am tired of your life of things
your oft-repaired faces
your bluebirds and chemlawns
your gazing balls and croquet
I am tired of your luxury trucks and inbred dogs
and the scent of your ionic breeze

I am tired of you gathering
in your varnished rooms of white pine
in your open floor plans and closed redemptions
for your simple compassion and complex rejections
your dropkick Sundays and backstage Saturdays
your sandbox brotherhood and clubhouse suspicions

I am tired of you smiling
in white and ivory on your wedding days
in white and ivory at your christenings
I am tired of children who will be dipped in the sacred water
yet will not be blessed with attention or ease
who will be born without learning to live

I am tired enough to rest quietly beside you
in your cities and your cafes, your steel diners
your small bars of Schlitz and Jim Beam
these are my small bars, cafes, cities too
these are the small towns I sleep in as well
these are the farms and the highways
the massage parlors, the nightclubs, the alleys full of suck
the homes where some of us look into eyes like our own
the rooms where the girl strokes her belly and worries
the doorways that lead to our churches, our manna, our god
these are the worlds I inhabit and admit to
the places you cannot believe in
the places where fatigue and joy exist in each others’ pockets
the country by and of and for
the land of tired and poor and just got here and always been here

I am tired
I am resting now
as still as
a bullet
in a chamber

About Tony Brown

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A poet with a history in slam, lots of publications; my personal poetry and a little bit of daily life and opinions. Read the page called "About..." for the details. View all posts by Tony Brown
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 1st, 2004 at 2:22 pm and posted in uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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