31 January 2006

Friday is my birthday.

And I love this poem, so it's getting posted.

40 poems in 40 years and 40 mules thrown in for good measure

Another century older,
my, my, where does the time go?
I can remember the good old days
when PM meant Post Mortem
and BC was short for Beelzebub's Crabcakes,
and I lived with 40 mules in the same house
with 40 wives
with 40 children each,
and when you killed somebody
they stayed dead
oh, the sweetbreads of nostalgia!

Now all it means to have a birthday
is another year facing the same failures:
children who never call,
40 ex-wives who call all the time
because the support payment's late,
insurance men who call
just to make sure the premiums keep coming
and to see if I'm maybe slipping
just a little bit,
and the people from the IRS
or the IRA
(I never could keep them straight)
who threaten me with nearsighted lawyers
with bad breath
and guns
and the lady who calls night and day
about that subscription to Time magazine
I ordered but haven't paid in years,
I tell them all the same thing:

It's not the years that give me chest pains,
chest pains and arthritis
and lumbago
and pins and needles so bad
I call them Caesar's spears
it's all the damn phone calls
the phone calls and the birthdays.

If I could afford it, I'd take a vacation,
by God I would,
someplace warm
with nude beaches
and a nightlife for when the sun goes down
and those fruity drinks with the umbrellas.

But who can afford it
when there's back rent
and taxes
and so many mouths to feed
and the goddamn phone ringing every five seconds,
who's got the time?

Maybe I should call in sick a day or two
make the old man take up the slack,
for a change.

Just lay in bed
all day long
and watch the news on TV,
nothing like a nice train wreck
or a double murder
to soothe the nerves
maybe the odd political debate,
or an old episode of Dark Shadows on cable,
even if it is
only a busyman's holiday
I could sure use a change of pace,
or maybe snuggle up with my 40 mules
and catch up on my reading.

Say,
I might even get to like this,
I might call in the next day too
and the one after that,
and the one after that,

don't tempt me.

- Craig T. Hathaway

11 comments:

DelTron said...

Happy Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary, buddy!

Deep within the womb of time,
a creature thus be born
The seed of life is united with
the egg of tyranny
Gestates forth from within the womb of life
for three-quarter and nigh a year
The creature thus be born!
The creature thus be formed!
And ye of years...
[Your current age + bells]
Will chime!
When the heavens open up
and drink from the silver cup
The creature thus be born!
And blow the magic horn!
To alert the spirit deep within the cycle of life.
The creature has begun it's journey deep forlorn,
upon this day which he be formed
In the sea of mucus the spirit rides down from the mountain
and unites with the creature in the womb
A holy union, dark mortality, until the dark mortality
breaks the chain of life
The creature thus be born
And every year raineth down the celebratory tears
A celebration of the years
from a mere mortal sky


:)

Beautiful agony said...

happy b day. again i am sorry i was not their to celebrate it with you. By the way you will be getting a package soon.

jess

Tenebrous Rex said...

Dennis/Master Shake: Thanks man, them bells gonna be ringin for a while.

but jess, you already got me a birthday present!!! and it's awesome!! :)

kittens not kids said...

i love birthdays!

many happy returns of the day....
birthday blogging again on friday...i will think of something.

happiest birthday.
i'm glad you're here.

DelTron said...

"package..."

HAHA!!



[12 years old, ALWAYS!!]

Beautiful agony said...

hehehee is it a large package???

Beautiful agony said...

oh oh oh god delivered it and paul singed for it; )

Tenebrous Rex said...

okay now you two... my mom reads this thing. ;)

Anonymous said...

Creature crawled out of a sea of mucas and ate my twinkie.

DelTron said...

Happy Birthday, roomie!

Don't forget to move your feet and do the naughty, whoooa oooh oh!!!!

[Guess who forgot!!!]

Anonymous said...

That video was awesome!

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