Cutting Teeth

Cutting Teeth  10/18/2013

The dog salivates on command

And a fool sees what he wants

Assigning brilliance or stupidity

To the packaging

And not the prize.

Make a speech

And lie every minute

Because no one cares

What happens

As long as it affirms their ignorance.

A bag of cells means nothing

And a false narrative carries the day

As they careen from crisis to crisis

And never seem to learn. 

Remind me not to care

Because I know what it feels like

And it’s something you can never forget

No matter how hard you try.

My teeth were bleeding

But no one called or cared

And I lost all that I had

But no one gave a damn.

I was honest

And I was good

But I remained at the bottom

Ridiculed and shamed.

I knew then

And I know now

What it was

And why it happened.

This house will never last

And this house cannot stand

Unevenly slanted

Against all that matters

And all that is good. 

The truth is a treasure

Because that is what lasts

Because what is given can be lost

But what is earned endures.