Admonition . A Dialogue with the Abyss

Back against the abyss

Eyes ears nose strain forward

Into smelly chaos cacophony

Slap, pain. pink worm screams

Light blur heavy air

Masked bandit

“It’s a boy..”

Bandit vanishes

(What the hell?)

Blur coos tweaks incubators

(Anything I need to know

About this crap?)

“You’re going to die..”

(Well, at least there’s that.

These other bastards got to stay?)

”No. Them too.

All going to die..”

(Weird. So what we waiting for?

Let’s get this show on the road.)

“You have to wait a while.

Those others have to die

First. Mostly.. “

(Cripes! I gotta stand in line?)

.

“That’s a way of looking at it.. “

(So what the hell am I supposed to do

Meanwhile?)

.

“Forget what I’ve just told you.

You’ll find something.. “

(It’s so damned boring

And it even hurts)

“Don’t look back

Keep your eyes away

From where you’ve been

And where you’re going..”

(But all these other bastards

Stirring around making racket

Doing backflips and cartwheels

What the hell is that all about?)

“Before you can talk about it

You’ll come to think

All that is what's important. “

(Say what?)

“Watch them you’ll soon see

They never look into the abyss..”

(Yeah. I noticed

They’re playing pinball

And masturbating

Let me the hell out of here)

.

“Don’t try to cut in line

Ahead of someone else.

You’ll screw things up.

I mean it..”

From Poems of the New Old West

Copyright 2002 Jack Purcell