Just Because, Bad Heart

by Michael Lee Johnson / November 11th, 2018

Just because I am old
do not tumble me dry.
Toss me away with those unused
Wheat pennies, Buffalo nickels, and Mercury dimes
in those pickle jars in the basement.
Do not bleach my dark memories
Salvation Army my clothes
to the poor because I died.
Do not retire me leave me a factory pension
in dust to history alone.
Save my unfinished poems refuse to toss them
into the unpolished alleyways of exile rusty trash barrows
just outside my window, just because I am old.
Do not create more spare images, adverbs
or adjectives than you need to bury me with.
Do not stand over my grave, weep,
pouring a bottle of Old Crow
bourbon whiskey without asking permission
if it can go through your kidney’s first.
When under stone sod I shall rise and go out
in my soft slippers in cold rain
dread no danger, pick yellow daffodils,
learn to spit up echoes of words
bow fiddle me up a northern Spring storm.
Do you bad heart, see in pine box of wood,
just because I got old.

Michael Lee Johnson lived ten years in Canada during the Vietnam era. Today he is a poet in the greater Chicagoland area, IL.  Michael is an internationally published poet in 44 countries, several published poetry books, nominated for 5 Pushcart Prize awards and 6 Best of the Net nominations. He is editor-in-chief of 3 poetry anthologies, all available on Amazon, and has several poetry books and chapbooks. He has over 536 published poems. Michael Lee is the administrator of 6 Facebook Poetry groups.  He now has over 264 poetry videos on YouTube.   Member Illinois State Poetry Society. poetry 2015 videos on YouTube. Michael Lee can be reached at promomanusa@gmail.com Read other articles by Michael Lee, or visit Michael Lee's website.

This article was posted on Sunday, November 11th, 2018 at 8:02am and is filed under Poetry.