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society bums me out
by Gabriel RicardI’m a genius,
but I’m also a good cross
between a liar,
and someone rehearsing a play
that would probably work better
as a comic book.
That’s a sham, too.
Nothing is brilliant about my lies,
and I’m not even trying to put one over on you
with that.
They’re supposed to be funny,
but I’m always secretly suspecting someone
is about to take my picture,
so I make it to a point never to smile.
Someone said something once.
Some third-grade photos
may or may not
have been used
to promote a Midwest haunted house.
Don’t blame me for being a drowsy fanatic
about keeping these things
next to the tickets and receipts in my suitcase.
Accuse me of something else.
There’s plenty to go around.
I need a quarter for this trick,
and then I’m going to need another hundred
to make it seem like the ride was at least fun.
Someone else must have told you
that I met the man last year
who was going to keep Burroughs’ spirit
for insight and nothing even resembling
physical wealth.
He wasn’t driving a cab I fell into,
and he didn’t tell me to save my money
for the memories that were surely
breezing into town for a little dinner and dancing.
I need a penny to make a few thousand
suddenly appear in the trunk of your busted car.
Just close your eyes,
count to Tuesday,
never mind the sudden kiss,
because it’s been a while for me,
and ignore the phone calls I’ll be making.
The favors I gotta call in to impress the fashionably late,
you just wouldn’t believe.
I’m not a liar. I’m just a practitioner of personality.
It’s never going to work for everybody,
and I’d never want it to.
I need to know who’s reliable,
and who’s going to try and sneak up
behind me in heavy boots.
I’m a charlatan,
but I’ll always let you in on the joke
before I ever say a word.
That’s not so bad, right?
Wait a while to answer that,
or just lie to me right now.
I’ll take either,
keep nothing in the sleeves of my shirt
and love you anyway.
11/15/2011 Author's Note: somewhat inspired by my favorite orson welles movie, "f for fake."
Posted on 11/15/2011
Copyright © 2024 Gabriel Ricard
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Meghan Helmich on 11/15/11 at 06:35 PM Is that a promise? I think society is enough to bum anyone out these days. There's an ironic honesty to this piece...or is there? |
| Posted by Shannon McEwen on 11/15/11 at 08:15 PM I enjoyed reading this, it kind of twisted and turned inside, until the last stanza kicked me in the gut. loved it. I agree with Meghan's comment about society is enough to bum anyone out. |
| Posted by Laura Doom on 11/15/11 at 10:26 PM Cut myself on the edge of this, but I could be mything something...no, it's a smile veiling pain :># |
| Posted by Sal Haefling on 11/16/11 at 03:06 PM society has burnt me out since i exited the womb. |
| Posted by Paganini Jones on 11/16/11 at 05:58 PM Somehow this feels like an extract from a literary novel, and I want more! |
| Posted by Lori Blair on 11/24/11 at 03:22 PM I wonder if an animal had a voice would they lie more, less, or not at all? We do lie especially to ourselves..I could read your work all day..truly! Thanks! |
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