April bomb cyclone to hit the northeast/

I always said,

not me. If

the airplane was going down

I would just jump out

before it hit the ground.

Not me,

standing in the grave I dug

only to be shot by the Nazi's.

Not me,

picking cotton for 16 hours

under the lash

only to live in the slave quarters.

Not me,

at the World Trade Center.

Not me

at the crematoria of Mauthausen

Not me

in the Mississippi heat/stink

I would just run away

slip into darkness.

Coin a phrase,

cut a clearing,

Twist off a head,

make a bonfire,

call an old lover

dam a stream,

open the borders,

bake a chicken,

corner a snake,

grow some fangs, occupy

a compound,

unlock a steel mill,

pay my NETFLIX subscription,

cook a pot of chitlins,

cream fill some pastry,

lay my face on the sand,

play a sax,

hide a migrant,

warm a veteran,

camouflage the muskets,

hide my shoes.

Not me

I would yell

for I would just be,

me.

Reviews

[Beccy]

Lately, I am tending to overthink things a little. I sort of swore, when I was younger, that I never would; but those layers keep on piling and no matter how Teflon one imagines oneself to be, the trials and travails of life get through.

'Not me,' has never really been an option though has it; and judging by the second half of this poem, that is something you entirely understand.

Beccy.

[h d e rushin]

I too am guilty of overthinking things...until those things force those gradual edge cuts in the road. Sort of the feeling you get when you see everything before it happens, but cant do s**t about it. Poems are always edaphic my friend. They are always influenced by the soil rather than by the climate...Thanks for stopping by Beccy with your insight ….dana

[Robert Trakofler]

I have... given to my questionable youth... been incarcerated once or thrice and can say with a high degree of certainty that the bunny (Robert) was not made for these wretched things you mentioned at the beginning of your poem! save for perhaps paying my netflix bill! I do not do well in situations of subordinations the mechanism of self survival under grave situations is one of for lack of a better term... fucked! I love this poem on so many levels not the least of which is that wonderful warriors voice you have. You are you and that is as rock solid as the laws of physics dear Dana I'm --- all in---here!

[h d e rushin]

thank you my dearest Bad....enjoyed your review...dana

[kentuck14]

Dana,
Enjoyed your poem . . . like the way you went from the negative to the more positive aspects of fulfilling your life . . . some of it mundane to the more heroic . . . some just humorous. This is in many ways a serious poem . . . but it is filled with humor. I'm just wondering how you plan on growing fangs??!! Thanks for sharing.
Tom

[h d e rushin]

thanks tom..as you know "fangs"in Greek mythology , then trans=mutated to Poetry speak, is just ritualized word gamesmanship . thanks for your kind words my friend...dana

[jacob erin-cilberto]

love the subtleties in this...as it is a terrific protest poem but simmers rather than flares...and with a touch of humor.
"pay my NETFLIX subscription"
oh yes,...part of this made me think of the movie Mississippi Burning....so well done that film, but makes me so angry when i watch it...how can people be like that?
but they are...
and all those Not Me's...yep, i would want to jump out also.
i don't think we can understand any situation or anyone's plight unless and until we are in the situation ourselves...when we can walk in those shoes some so often hide.
This is so damn good, dana,
j.

[h d e rushin]

thank you brother for those kind remarks...."Mississippi burning"......with Gene Hackman...Great movie......

[John the Baptist]

A cascade of historical images here, all dark. The speaker's list of alternatives is both dark and comical("pay my NETFLIX subscription"). They all represent, however, the individual's efforts, however small, to stay upright in the face of overwhelming circumstances. Something to remember in these current, difficult times. Well done.

[h d e rushin]

thank you so much john for your insightful review my friend...dana