WHY WOULD I WRITE ANOTHER DAMN POEM!

Is anyone going to pay me for it, give me a couple of hours
with their body (if they’re a sexy young woman), or invite me
over for lobster thermidor and a movie on their wide screen TV?

No, I’d rather not write another poem, but just think one out loud,
and so if you could hear my mind, this is what you’d get:
I’ve never been a big fan of this life and for the most part
people give me little comfort or hope for a better manana.

There is so much wrong with this life that it hardly seems worth it
to live it, and I probably only do so because I’ve never known
anything else, and figure that after all I’ve been through
it can’t get any worse. . .

BEAUTIFUL

I say the word a lot, but more like beau ti ful, with an emphasis on ful.

I realized that people wanted to hear this if they’d given me their opinion 
or perspective on something.

It’s obvious that what they want is approval, affirmation, and agreement.
Saying beau ti ful is a way of letting them know that I’m 100 percent 
with them.

Why not! I say to myself. Life is short. And given that most of my life 
has been filled with tension, conflict, and disagreements with people 
I figured it was time to make amends.

Beau ti ful. . . I say it in such a way that they’ll remember me fondly
and hopefully tell others what a great person I really am: smart,
thoughtful, and always supportive.

And if I’m not saying beau ti ful, I’m saying things like You are so right,
I’m with you all the way, or You said a mouthful.

Give them what they want, I say to myself. It’s all so beau ti ful. . .