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Junk Drawer

songbirds talk trash
a burning branch above the dump,
and for them it's all about
livin' life on the hump

but you, you know that talk--talkin' shop
& swappin' bits with the flock is really
ALL ABOUT YOU

(and it keeps you from sleep)

yes YOU reading this--
your neurosis runs deep,
doesn't it?

now be careful
how you frame your response--
don't let a little lip slip,
be quick to
catch my swift drift
and get a back draft
of sureality stashed
in the bottom drawer
of your bedroom dresser--
you know the one
three drawers down from the top,
it's where you put your life in hock
cozied between pairs
of mis-matched socks

yeah you call it your 'junk drawer'
but it's so much more.

as a trash heap
it's unusually deep
for such a shallow scream
of a human being you
discard dreams amidst
piles of yesterday's things

(to which you used to cling, remember?)

tell me--
when you finally get all you want
will you still have what you need?

(or will you just stand there & bleed?)

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