Complaint at Age 26

I won’t lie
but I’ll come close
to comitting a crime.
Which do you prefer?

Your happiness?
Or, me honest but behind bars?

A downfall is that
no one ever explained
why I should put
your happiness before mine.

Because you got me here?
I said, “Thanks.”
I send Christmas cards.

Y’all tell me
to enjoy life
to have a nice weekend
to do what I love
happy birthday.

But nothing’s been better
than smoking smokes with friends.
What’s your response to that?
What’s this obsession
with my profession?

All I need is food and drink.
If it weren’t for crowds
pavement and classrooms
(I need no more schooling),
I could manage myself.

We bloviate and stipulate—
we drown in this economy—
but the Indians
have never been the same.