Baptized in
the fire.

A sudden,
startling dignity.

The boy
made the man
back to monkey man
again.

Sit and spin.
Famous on the
days of our lives
like a soap opera
wedding.

Murderers in
the building
and the postman
is mailing in
his painting.

Prison in witness.
Protects your sanity.
Those bars can’t
get the best of you.

Let the psyche ward sing
that one dignity.

Poetry is like
rice and beans.
Staples you eat
when you can’t
afford family plan.

But there’s a
lot of rice
and beans to eat,
so we all eat free.

Sit and spin.
Begin again.

Breathe in a
new infinity.
Take time.
Put it on a plate.
Serve it up.

Refresh it
Shake like
featherweight.
Don’t doubt
the featherweight
whose pain is great.

If a fire
is in you,
you know.

Because the pen
glides effortlessly
over the page,
I’m alive in
both the middle
and digital Age.

What it’s like
to be free
with dignity.
Sit and spin.
How to breathe again.

It can begin again.
Pain goes to pavement.
Fire in my belly.
Time to begin again.

My ants
are marching
and Dave
says hello.

Limp Bizkit,
will I
see you again?
Oh boy, I hope so.

 

Jason Wright is the editor and founder of Oddball Magazine. His column appears weekly. His third book, Train of Thought 2: Almost Home is available now at the Oddball Book Store.