Travelers Welcome

Travelers Welcome

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Making a List

by Beverly Head

I’m making a list,
and I will be naughty.
I’m checking it twice,
and I won’t be nice.
The ugly:
roaches,
roaches that don’t pay rent,
roaches in the homes of immigrants
being taken advantage of by slum owners
who live in gated communities.
The sad:
people trying to guard their belongings
on the street after being evicted,
the homeless couple at the highway exit
with a sign for food with misspelled words,
the man speeding by them in the BMW.
The happy:
people finding a better place to live,
the homeless couple eating a pizza together,
the man in the BMW getting four flat tires.
The crazy:
me sitting here making this list
and getting crazier and crazier,
thinking naughty thoughts,
checking them twice.
I still can’t be nice.

3 comments:

  1. Find it difficult to be nice myself when there is so much contrast in the world. Great use of Christmas spirit "checking them twice.", unsure if that was the intention but strikes a chord with me.

    People more generous during the holiday season and then the homeless, the poor, the desolate forgotten. The inequities, pointed out so eloquently with your writing.

    The contrast, the content, amazing!
    -Contemplative (SMITHMag community member screenname)

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  2. I like the urgency and anger in the poem. I like that you didn't linger and become sentimental with the wrongs around us - you called it out with a punch - great visuals, the pizza, the bmw... crazy is a good place to be.

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  3. I love the idea of that BMW getting the flat tires. Guess that makes me naughty, too.

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