jonberger

HAPPILY NEVERS

There are days
that are all hazy,
where no sunlight shines
and all brightness comes from memory.
I do not want that memory.
I prefer the darkness.

Tell me of no Happily Evers
Sing me no sappy love songs,
even if they’re sad
– for even they offer some kind of hope
for the future.

Don’t tell me it’ll all work out.
or build me any plans for the future.
I want to be miserable
at least for the hazy day
so lay no joy bombs upon me.

In fact,
just leave me alone.
Suffering in silence
is far better than this.

STORMY Cs

It wouldn’t have worked out.
She was too clever for me.
Too kind,
too tight and eager.
She would not have stayed the course
on such stormy seas.

It could not have passed the test of time.
We wouldn’t have borne fruit.
Even though she said we could last,
I could see clearer.

I saw once
in some shitty film I was watching
a line that was memorable:
“Some of us are too fearful
to ever love deeply.”
It was a really crappy movie;
bad acting
just a waste of time.

Don’t bother.

CRICKETS

Are there any minorities out there?
I’m not judging,
I’m just wondering.
…

It’s not like I’m prejudiced or anything;
I’m Jewish, myself.
Don’t worry, though.
I’m not one of those whiney
Jewey Jews.
I’m a little bit different than that.

I just want to know
if there’s anyone around
who is prone to hypersensitivity
like women
or the Portuguese.

To each their own
and
to some, I suspect,
something better than their own.
Not that I’m judging.
Judging is why short people do.
And I’m bigger than that.

THE ROAD NEEDS

Am I jealous?
Fuck yeah.
Do I wish I was with her
instead of him?
Sorta.
Do I wish I was him?
Oh god no.

No, see,
he’s a dick
a prick
he’s totally sick
and he’s not the kind of boy
that I want to be.

Nor is she precisely
my fated date:
a gaze that haughty
and standards so high
are not my preferred demographic.
She is fine
and hot
and I wouldn’t mind taking her for a spin
once she has more miles on her.

The road needs
to wear her down
a little bit more
before she becomes
my kind of prize.
Reality must show her
the cruelties of life
before I make my case.

And that boy,
her current paramour,
will do nothing
but further my goals
for he is the road
and she is the ride.

BYGONES, AND ALL

Come on over:
Why so shaky?
What’s the worst?
I mean,
really,
how bad could it be
to come back here
and talk to me.

Bygones, and all.
Forgiveness, you know?
And, after all,
that girl I stole from you
broke my heart
and my bank
and back
before she was through,
so
there’s no need to hold
that holier than thou expression.
You’re not even holier than Mao
– and he’s godless.

So come on,
have a drink with me.
Fine, on me:
I’ll pay.
It’s not like I hadn’t paid
for years.
Really,
she wasn’t worth the animosity
between you and me.

Just let if go.
Let me back in.
Let it be
and let me have that five grand.
I really need it.
Bygones, right?