Friday, August 13, 2010

HAVING IT ALL

for BIG TENT POETRY....possessions


HAVING IT ALL

I put all my clothes in a garbage bag
gave my broken watch to the pawnshop
returned my stuffed animals to the carnival
spent my last dollar at the penny arcade
used all my air miles to travel the world
bus tickets to tour the city
sent all my red sox back to Boston
my white sox to Chicago
soiled pennants to yankee stadium
Sinatra albums to a disk jockey with no horse
Diana Ross albums back to soul city
forgotten memories to church of dictators
sent used hash back to the Taliban
burnt a stashed welfare cheque dated 1961
pushed my old VW van over a cliff
had a bonfire for my overdue mortgage
then sent the ashes to the homeless
the empty fridge back to the farmers market
recycled the stove at some conservative convention
tore up my unpaid credit card
after my souvenirs were stolen
and my broken memories faded away
I sit and listen to my voice
having it all when having nothing

23 comments:

flaubert said...

Wayne I love what you did here!
How absolutely true we are tied to our possessions!
Cheers and happy weekend
Pam

Mary said...

Wayne, this was a very clever, original idea! I loved all the returns!

Weasel said...

Excellent post, Wayne! It is easy to become so attached to our possession in our life. Wonderfully crafted!

-Weasel

Paul Oakley said...

Enjoyed this poem very much, Wayne! Sending used hash back to the Taliban, lol. Have, use, return, dispose... Nicely done!

mareymercy said...

Love the 'sox' - very clever overall w/a nice ending.

Anonymous said...

This was such a fun read. Loved it! Feel of livin' on the edge and lovin' it all.

- Dina

Diane T said...

Wayne, how clever! You found a way to give up everything, LOL.

gautami tripathy said...

How I wish I could give up everything...

half-way through

Anonymous said...

Hi Wayne, What a grin of a poem and true to life!

Anonymous said...

sorta like the bucket list... this is a to do list right? seemingly subtle yet powerful.. like that

Anonymous said...

This is a brilliant poem. I loved it.

Unknown said...

Well, you could have sent me the Sinatra and Ross albums - but not the sox! I don't like to think of you sitting there in the emptiness!

Anonymous said...

Very witty, Wayne. Would that I could be like that! And now your life must be fashionably minimalist.

Stan Ski said...

I wish I'd thought of that...!

Unknown said...

Love it! Reminiscent of the Beat poets - such a sense of liberation.

Cynthia Short said...

Very original as usual, Wayne! I got the feeling that the writer was at the end of his tether and divesting himself of everything before the "last leap". Good work.

Anonymous said...

Really like this romp through letting go in order to invest, without distraction, in the chosen task at hand.

Elizabeth

rallentanda said...

Brilliant!

Philip Thrift said...

We still have our words about us when all that other stuff is gone. Great poem.

Francis Scudellari said...

Great wisdom in this piece Wayne!

Tumblewords: said...

Wow! I really enjoyed this!

brenda w said...

Extraordinary piece, Wayne! Purge away, purge away....
~Brenda

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