On the Cusp At Midnight

by michaelcahill

A BRIEF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL VIGNETTE

On the Cusp At Midnight

drunken sperm brawling down the chute
(a hero is among them)
a clever sober drive to glory
a small but determined race to victory
                against all odds to be

                                the one

oh those poor ovum, ovulated under duress
undulating in tortured worrisome worlds
                of dementia
                paranoia creates a miasma
                suitable for impregnators in a stupor

                                there is
                                one
                                though
                                waiting for a genetic miracle

Dateline: San Francisco Bay
Mare Island Naval Base
(Alcatraz Island drools in envy)
January 19th, 1952
The chicken or the egg?


                                the Eagle, baby!

Alone and content on an unobtainable oubliette
a mountain goat of many colors
eyes the great sea said to be forbidden
                he jumps and flies without wings
                the wind is impressed and smiles
                the water is churning indignantly
                mountain goats can swim
if they want to

Well …

Ozzie claimed to be an insurance agent
   (a secret duck and cover liason leaning
against a cold iron curtain ... Marilyn never
   showed. Imogene Coca was on a different
   chanel and Cuba was an island)
and while the cat was away
Harriet made curds and whey
and therapy would be invented in the near future

                Michael was mistaken for a girl
                with golden locks and bluesy eyes
                it amused him
                as did insanity
                and various imperfections of humanity
                he appeared unaffected by the pressures
attempting to cook him
                                                (the debate steams ahead)

Then ...

Dead President and yeah, yeah, yeah
promotion to omnipotent twelve-year old
leader of the pack
he appeared unaffected by the maladies
                enveloping his world
                                (he laughs at the debate)

HIGH school wasn't for him
the crowd being stupid and he being smart
accepted by
he rejected
                in secret
(Purple haze, war the craze, I left the maze)

yes, the girl, always the girl

things with strings
things with keys
things with valves and buttons
songs to sing
words to write

                a world to mock
                laughing at
                and with
                                sincerely

getting older
                measured
treasured
uninterested in assessment
   (or investment)


     and the girl, always the girl

time eliminated from the continuum
age, rules, comparisons
for others

but the childhood, the hard life …
the Responsibilities,
the family with the willies...
the effects debated still
the smiles questioned
the still waters plumbed for depth
the explosion anxiously awaited
It has to affect him@psycho.com

I, poet laureate of the universe,
laugh as I let off steam

disaster averted