Depths of the Shallow

            Depths of the Shallow

It plummets hard and sudden like the hooting, hard-hatted pig

Crowing lecherously from atop a girder perch,

Every bit as crude but less honest.

They hated you all along but never said.

He did, the one who handed down your grades,

So did she, the one who pretended to listen,

Her mother did too; she smiled in your face.

And you didn’t know enough to hate back.

It’s time for the plunge, the fall, the descent

Into the depths of the shallow with a lurch.

They had their reasons, all niggling,

Small and dark like a musty closet

In a cramped, Depression-era flat.

And it’s too late for vengeance, for redress,

For forgiveness, for anything but

Resignation. And you’ve got plenty of that.

I can’t decide if the fact the above poem sort of rhymes—but not quite—represents a failure or a triumph.

    I can’t wait for the day when Lady Gaga becomes a candidate for School Board in Stamford, Connecticut. You know it’s coming, right? Busta Rhymes appeared in a film with Sean Connery. Basil Rathbone’s last movie was (seriously!) entitled “Hillbillies In A Haunted House.” Ice Cube recorded “When Will They Shoot,” one of the fiercest, most bellicose rap songs ever; now he’s involved in family-friendly visual entertainment. Past performance is not always indicative of future results. Bear that in mind when Stamford’s next School Board election rolls around.