GOTTA BE KIDDING ME



I mean

you got

no wife

no kids

no house

no future

he said

I mean

aint you

thirty

he asked

I mean

don’t you

wanna be

happy

he asked

I mean

when you

gon’ get

it together

he asked

and asked

and asked

like I was some

infected vagrant

his head cocked

to the side

to the angle of

sympathy and

dissappointment

the last bit of

sense oozing

from his ear

I imagined it

as invisible lanyard

he used to use

to keep his passion

bound to his nuts

before swallowing

his pride

chocking on rope

of responsibility

breaking his back

on social benchmarks

way back then

I mean

seriously

you thirty

he said

Yes

yes

I know

I said

then laughed

and laughed

and laughed

and laughed