WINE OVER GOLD
—for
Sonny Lowe
This is just to say
I got it all wrong:
it wasn’t “Love, or money.”
A friend told me to choose
“Love over gold.”
Sure, love would be nice,
but I haven’t been off the farm so long
I can’t recognize a real gold mine
in a shade tree mechanic when I see it.
Getting my truck running again
is gold enough for me.
(For starters, such technical precision it took
smashing those solenoids with crow bars—
Perhaps more appropriate material
for matters of the heart.
Or is it faith?)
Yet we drink strong wine
from the shattered glass of courage,
and daily existence threatens
to run off at the mouth with a poem—
(the chances we each foolishly take).
Is there a Murphy’s Law for love?
Maybe Jim should’ve said,
“Wine over gold…” & just left
love out of the fucking equation.
9/17/94
No comments:
Post a Comment