Alchemy 2

a sequel poem

On the other hand if you took your bitchy comments, your gossip

And petty lies about others and lined them up like ducks in an

Amusement park arcade, shot them with a pellet gun

Then you might finally be funny.

While you’re at it why not take your assumptions

And package them up in a box, call UPS

Ship them to a beach in the Caribbean.

So you might experience quiet.

And so your back might unwind.

If you take your criticism, yeah

Even the parts you adore, and you know you do

And sent them off to boarding school, then you

Would have a chance of sleeping through the night.

Take those addictions of yours, major and minor,

And mix them with water, grind them down

With a mortar and pestle. The act of doing this might

Distract you and give your neighbors some peace from the noise.

Take your libido, if you can tame it for a minute,

For a jog, a long one on mountain trails and beaches

And you might find stillness in a shady wood and

After sitting there for 10 days in silence

You might find your sense of humor restored and bruised but intact.

Give your so-called wisdom,

A flannel shirt and an ax

To rediscover chopping wood on chill mornings

And also: you might find a friend to help stack the logs.

If you took your childhood memories

And sent them on a train to visit your godmother for a long weekend

You might find a brand-new aesthetic.

Instead of taking your STDs to the clinic

Why not take them shopping?

Buy them a shiny watch and new sneakers.

See if they might run away from home

And go to college already.

Take your creativity; pick it up from the crib. It’s crying.

Throw it over your shoulder and burp it like a baby.

Swaddle it and carry it around in a Baby Bjorn, next to your heart.

When you put it back down you’ll know it’s dreaming—

Its little hands will be twitching, like it’s writing a fairy tale

In a language, private and lyrical.