Someone Else's Knowledge

Knowledge of a Grandfather

Look before you leap
Or you may just drown
I must have laughed
Headed to prom
Pure abuse

Work hard
You will eventually succeed
Two quarters jingled in my pocket
Left on the washer machine
Enough to buy a cigarette
And a sip of Boones

Trust the government
Believe in the troops
Angry vets
Old men without lives
I knew neither

Love with your heart
And believe in God
Weekly catechism
Confession
Sin removal
I felt better

What was I thinking?
A grey haired fellow knows
Nothing
Something
Everything



The things I will probably never do

I will buy a book at the local book store
and never open the cover

I will plant a vegetable garden
and forget to turn on the water

I will pack my husband’s clothes for vacation
and probably forget to take him

I will sing to the words of Blind Melon
and not even know the words

Perhaps I will apply for a job or two
and not really want to be hired

One day I will wake up from this madness
and realize I am normal

That I am not one of those people who scratch
their name on a bathroom stall

I don’t need to change my identity so that I can
spray paint on the side of a truck or building

I am real, confused, an angel fluttering
searching for direction