CONFUSION

Telephone notes

Overdue bills

   Add to clutter

Looking like a power pole

In Chinatown

Dirty clothes

   And ashtrays

Dripping faucets

Rust-stained shower with

   No clean towels

Kitchen sink full

   Of dirty dishes

Refrigerator empty

   With no hope of refill

Glass in side door

   Patched with duct-tape

Covered with weather-proof

   Plastic tacked in with carpet nails

Parents have been gone for how long?

   Too long is the answer

No chance on getting them back

Died with tears in their eyes

   And with broken hearts

Although not from pain, but

   Disappointment in not

Having claim to success

   In their effort to

Teach esteem and reliability

Self-respect was a foreign word

Laundry room full

   Of everything but

Soap and bleach

   Dryer without vent

Clothes just lay there

   No hope of seeing them clean

      Know what I mean?

This thing I’m on has to stop

   And let me off

No need to be this way

   Turn it around or

Start on fresh ground

   Which may not be better

Stanski

November 6, 2023, ^