A Sick Joke

written while living in portland, oregon...riding the bus...working at a temp labor place....drinking a lot of port wine and reading too much bukowski...

 see, the trick is
you have to realize
that all of life
is a joke
and we are merely punchlines

an old man driving a bus
twelve hours a day
only to return to an empty house
for a few hours of mind numbing television
to gather strength for the endless routine

a transvestite hooker
on the corner of NYC
with fake tits
eyes sunken deep into his/her skull
like distant stars in the blackness of an abyss
scars runnijng up and down the arms
while a friend brags that they have tried crack
yet still smiling away

the chinese man at the corner store
selling overpriced products
and happier than a pig in s**t
for an existence i couldn't conceive of living

the chisel faced gq romeo
with finely manicured nails
a perfectly shaved face
with a look of condescending complacence
painted across his cardboard face
while he looks at you from his sports car
as if he knew the meaning of life
but you are too stupid to understand
even if he let you in on it

the police man who reeks of authority
looking at you as if you were the scum of the earth
his ideals becoming the standard
or else its the lockup for you

the executives in the warehouses 
full of self importance (and loathing i suspect)
walking around in 2 thousand dollar stiff suits
like they have zucchini crammed up thier asses
telling you what time you'll get up to show up
at his monkey labor job
while they sit behind thier desks
fiddling with thier tiny c***s and minds

the 300 pound woman sitting across from you on the bus
muttering incessantly to herself
with a crazed look in her eyes
two children flanking her on either side
and a thin wasted young tweeker
with a blank expression
following the woman
with one hand jammed up his a*s crack

myself - whining about my life
while i'm young and capable
as a quadropelegic woman sits across
from you on the bus
drooling on her shoulder

and i think MY life is so bad?
i see her and i feel like a cheap f**k
like cum in my hand
so i close my eyes
and laugh deep within
for myself
and all the world