ahead, on-balance

the universe is a gift too good to send back.
Which is good
because customer service is sacked, you lost
the receipt, and it was free admission
to begin with, jack.

Life:
a great deal!

It's true
it doesn't always work out for everybody.
Plenty of times, not even for me. You know,
life is not just a great deal. It's a great deal
of pain

But you know what?

Fuck it. Right?

The pattern so far,
I come through scathed,
pounded, broken and eventually saved,
rescued, by the proper authorities or
some kind soul. And what's on the other side,
long before the healing begins, torn and aching
and bandaged or maybe just, bleeding from a wound
in one's pride - once you've come through
the immediate threat of death, what is
on the other side is worth
getting over it for.

After enough broken skin and bones, you begin
to think you have a charmed life. The reminders strike
you as talismans.

I kind of like the shiny pink streaks of skin,
where the low volcano mountain range of scabs
falls away.

I like that they last a long while, then fade.

I'm really quite fond of nature red in tooth and claw.
Food poisoning? So fucking what? I'm having some more
scallops.

Germs, they have to eat and fuck, too. I expect I'll die
in writhing agony, one of these days. I might luck out,
but...whether I do or not, I still say: life
is a bargain.

A great fucking deal. No doubt.

If I were an atheist, I'd say the same damn
thing. Damn. Either way:

I paid nothing to get in. And most of it - especially
the literature and the museums! - it's enough to blow
your fucking mind, let alone rock and roll

Do you realize that when they let me in the door,
that was my pre-ticket ticket to potentially,
every rock show going? It's a dilemma,
just to orchestrate the logistics
of which ones you can fit in. Fuck.

After all's send and done, I hope
I don't "bitch out" later. Start
whining. It'd be pretty churlish,
pretty childish, when everything
up to that moment was free, to complain

about the occasional rifle bullet

exiting my skull

letting out my brain