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changing careers or (accountant by job title only)

by Sandy M. Humphrey

i saw a poet on World News Tonight
who on the city street corner sat
classic manual typewriter in lap
ready to give the gift of prose
to curious strangers passing by
fingers striking keys passionately
as poems would materialize
not little rhymes or greeting cards
but real gifts of insight for all those
with a glimpse of life to share

to myself i thought were it i
could i be a street artist of poetry
handing out words for a smile and tip
living on caffeine and adrenaline
the kind you get from following a dream
simplifying your life down to keystrokes
each tap a mirror to my heartÂ’s tick
with the constant flow of vocabulary
coursing through my veins

would i then have found my true calling
as i quickly tap away on the number
pad entering countless figures into
spreadsheets toiling under the title
of accountant I know that it is just
smoke and mirrors and numbers
are not poetry unless of course
after all this they do balance

06/12/2007

Posted on 06/12/2007
Copyright © 2024 Sandy M. Humphrey

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Gregory O'Neill on 06/13/07 at 12:48 AM

Hi Sandy. I like this very much. These dreams are the touchstones of our character. And I love the conclusion you come to. Thanks.

Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 06/13/07 at 02:54 AM

Ha! I enjoyed this very much. "simplifying your life down to keystrokes" - quite the condensing of this image. But the ending really puts you and maybe all of our professions into the same league or feel - as poetry - if our goals are met, the perfect 10, the best piece of pie made at the corner restaurant, the race finished, the machine repaired, the tires changed and rotated, the rose bush pruned beautifully. And I being number challenged am always amazed if my check book balances. ;)

Posted by Charles E Minshall on 06/15/07 at 08:23 PM

Fun poem Sandy....Charlie

Posted by David Hill on 08/23/09 at 11:46 PM

I like the idea of the street poet, the old typewriter. Such simple tools are all that one needs. What a gift, to speak out. It should come from all angles. The accountant is as apt to speak truth as anyone.

Posted by Phil P Robson on 11/04/09 at 09:58 PM

Wow, I love this. I think of it as an expression of the restrained hopes and dreams that lie within all of the office buildings of the world. Thanks

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