let the ancient filth swirl
down the bathtub drain
red, black and white
like that scene from Bates Motel
Can a man ever shed all of his skin
even the tattoos, the pictographs
of accumulated bias from a lifetime
of connecting the dots, I worked my ass off
too busy to think most weeks, I made my lunch
at 5am and walked in every storm
mama dealt
papa lived at the steel mill
so i learned to fend for myself, The Street
was a vast classroom of two by fours
across the shoulders, and the skills to leap
four foot high chain-linked fences on the dead-run
while avoiding all the clotheslines
Now...i wanna mix naps with hikes
embrace tree therapy like a lost twin
sink some nights into the quicksand of the recliner
sink like an old codger too slow to outrun the lions any more
and it's even okay if a glass or two of whiskey
wakes up on the Mohawk carpet,'cause each stain
has a tale to tell
but in the daylight you'll find me rooted
in my inherent nature
'scuse me , while I kiss the sky
