jonberger

THE LESS FORTUNATE

No, there is nothing for it.
It cannot be done.
I cannot truly enjoy my meal
without thinking about the less fortunate.
My mother of sainted wisdom
always told me to clean my plate
because, and I quote,
“there are people starving on China.”

Sobering words
that I have always lived with
since those early
rosy-cheeked meals
which makes it difficult
– nay, nigh unto impossible –
to partake in this Triple Pepperoni Feast
without thought.

I cannot
I WILL not
be able to savor
this uneven division of pie
unless I consider the unfortunate.
For, without that consideration,
this is, in fact,
a pizza of discontent.

“People starving in China,”
after all,
may well get enough to eat
without my constant vigilance.

Thus, then, allow me my moment
to ponder the poor,
the weak,
the sorry and crippled.
Let me thank the gods
for making me mightier than they
and allowing me to gorge on this Triple Pepperoni Feast
alone.

The meek may inherit the earth,
but not the weak.
Not if I have any say.
YUM!

Modern Technology Being What It Is… 29

It will work
it has to.
It has taken years for my name
to rise
to the top of the list
of volunteers
at CyberWare Inc.
but now I am there
and tomorrow
when I begin my treatments
I shall end
my current existence
and initiate another.

For just as my name rose from the bottom
to the top of their chart
so shall I rise from the ashes of my past
into something better
something extraordinary
extraordinarily different.

CyberWare has the tech
that, shot into my system,
will constantly revitalize
supersize
and improvitize my body.
Was that a word?
It will be
after I’ve invented it
and so much more
with my smarter stronger
healthier outlook.

It’s all gonna turn
when CyberWare gets its paws on me.
I will become everything I was always meant to be
thanks to the random
and totally coincidental deaths
of the eighty two volunteers
before me.

PIZZA OF DISCONTENT III

If life is like a pie
with a hard crust
but, dug deeper, a meaty filling,
then I ask:
can it be open faced
or latticed
so we know what we’re getting into
before the first cut?

If life is like a pie,
scalding hot,
dangerous to the taste,
and I am the circumference,
flakey and fattening
at the edge,
then can you thank me at least
for protecting you
from those agonizing innards?

If like is like a pie,
and you are like a baker
and I am like a silverware maker
than may I cut the pie
into slices of less severity
so we may all partake partially
in this pizza of discontent?

SURETY

Are they real?
I don’t think so.
I suspect
after studying the facts
analyzing all issues
I suspect
quite strongly
that what you show is false.

Prove me wrong.
Let me feel them.
Let me taste
your goods
so that I would know
for sure
what you claim to be true.

I would like to rub them
all over me
and then
I can claim surety
on this matter.

Help me with this:
give me your tears
so I can uncover
just what is real.

THE NETHER REGIONS OF NEWARK

What we have before us
is unacceptable.
This…
this thing
will not do.

Look ahead
and imagine
what will occur
if we have anything but
a zero tolerance policy
towards
what we have seen.

Do you see?
Do you understand
this fate we face
if this goes on?
A line must be drawn
and we must say "No."

"No" to the words that oppress us.
"No" to the things that enslave.
We must allow nothing to get in our way
and they must allow us
to return this pizza
– this old soggy pizza
which smells like it came
from the nether regions of Newark –
at no cost.

Look! This cheese is uncooked.
Look! That crust is burnt.
Look! These are day-old fish innards
and not the anchovies we requested.
Look! Look! LOOK!

Now turn away
and refuse to face this thing today.
Give it up
and revert this pie of last reproach
to the back room from whence it came.

Send back this pizza of discontent.
None here shall dine on it tonight
except perhaps the wolves
and homeless that prowl about.
We seek better fare
with more olives
and we shall feast!