if you see me sitting around
with my head tilted down
face wrinkled in a frown
hands shielding my face
just trying to figure out
if I can survive in this place
if I can finish this race
I know. I got it
change will come
and change will go
for better or worse
we won’t know
until we’ll either
suffer through hell
or find Heaven’s grace
if we’re to be celebrated
as conquering heroes
or banned in disgrace
the true story
will not be told
until those very last
words unfold
and in the end
they are rejected
or embraced
~Who Knew~
Back when I was a child,
they said I was poor,
but I did not know it.
Until one of my teachers pointed at me and said,
it’s okay for you to show it,
and that you have no cause for shame.
I should have asked her then,
but my mind didn’t comprehend,
and to this day I still think about what message
she was trying to send.
Ashamed of what— I never knew,
so I lived my childhood
without a clue.
Maybe there was something,
or someone I should blame.
But I was never one to follow the rules of the game.
I just smiled and said okay,
then I walked out to join my friends,
on the playground’s monkey bars.
I was the king of the monkey bars,
and I was not ashamed of that either.
~I See You America~
Down that back road
that heads out of town
across the railroad tracks
past the water treatment plant
in a mobile home park
where howling dogs are
hooked with logging chains
to blue plastic
55 gallon drums
I see your eight kids
playing in your front yard
some in diapers
some in tidy whiteys
all of them shoeless
and shirtless
8” tall grass
littered with broken toys
beer cans
whiskey bottles
cigarette butts
a lawn mower with three wheels
an old refrigerator
and a couch
with the cushions missing
your driveway filled
with your shiny red
Ford F250 truck
fishing boat
motorcycle
an empty box
that held an 80” TV
leaning against
your overflowing
trash can full of used
lottery tickets
and PBR boxes
not everything can
be blamed on
the government
~Trumpy Bear~
My new book, ‘How to Avoid Getting Conned’ is now on sale…just $299.99
~Am I a Flower~
Where lies the line,
between humility and pride,
when does ambition become greed.
How short is the distance,
from disapproval to wrath,
between admiration and envy.
How easy is it to turn,
infatuation to lust,
indulgence into gluttony.
Will we know when,
relaxation becomes sloth,
or when a flower becomes just a weed.
Jerry Brotherton 