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once when i was a nobody
by Charlie Morgan
once when i was a nobody, teenager
didnt count. grown-ups ruled the race
no matter how much sense, how many
teeth had been swallowed from fights
with the IRS trying to bite the hand
that took food from their mouths.
this is why teenagers didnt count;
we couldnt count things that mattered,
only how many pimples were new,
how many frays in these hand-me-down levis,
how many times all us boys kissed karen
in our walking sleepy dreams of love.
still, poor and all, i was headed forward
to my destiny that had no hands to shake,
no happy face to receive my wanting smile.
only sneers, snides and an elusive gait
that seemed to outdistance me like an eland
ridding the slow lioness of her evening meal.
when i did get tall enough to see over the fence
they were gone, my future, my mama at home,
daddy riding the ribbons of highways across
the less-than-great nation who didnt take
its poor, its young or feeble anywhere
but to their cardboard propped-up dreams.
10/22/2007 Posted on 10/22/2007
Copyright © 2026 Charlie Morgan
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Alison McKenzie on 10/22/07 at 07:34 PM Teenagers always count at my house. Man, I love this perspective. It's just so eye-opening. But I have to tell you, I kept waiting for you to say what happens now that you are SOMEBODY (and somebody special, too, I might add!!!). So, that's your next assignment, entitled, "Now that I am Somebody...." Hehe. |
| Posted by Elizabeth Jill on 10/22/07 at 11:08 PM I relate and grok with this, and especially love the last wrap-up, getting tall enough to "see over the fence", ...hmmm, yeah, I take this to a deep level, and "cardboard propped-up dreams" -(and who led the poor to those...) wow. Yes. Wow. |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 10/23/07 at 12:49 AM Wow! This is just packed with life's realities and your stanza 3 just makes me ache for kids growing up in a tough world, not of their own making. The eland and slow lioness imagery is terrific. I feel such a struggle here, almost like the worm hanging from the hook, just out-of-reach of the jumping fish. |
| Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 10/24/07 at 04:31 PM Very strong entry in the listings Chaz. Don't know if it was your intention, but ironically you make it sound like you're still a nobody. Accurate capture also in the teenager lines. |
| Posted by Gregory O'Neill on 10/25/07 at 08:35 PM Hi Chaz. Wonderful and I love this line especially: " i was headed forward
to my destiny that had no hands to shake..." Thanks for getting so right!
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| Posted by Jean Mollett on 10/27/07 at 03:09 AM Hi Charlie,
Great write. I guess alot of us felt that way, when we were tens at one time. And yes, you are somebody. You're my friend, as well to others here. Lots of hugs. :) |
| Posted by Allison Smith on 07/26/09 at 01:47 AM Over the fence indeed. This one has hit a nerve. I loved it. |
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