Day 7: And the man said –
when you are hungry eat,
and
when you are thirsty drink,
and
when you are poor go to work,
and
when you are bored go out and play.
And
when you are horny fall in love,
and
when you are not jack off.
And
when you are upset drink whiskey,
and
when you are upset never cry,
and
when you are not drink beer.
And
when you are dissatisfied buy something,
and
when you are happy sell it all back.
And
when you are about to die
tell people you made peace with God –
because
that will make them feel better and
because
that is the only way
they will leave you alone.
Day 8: So It Goes
My grandfather was the hardest
working man I have ever known. Even
after he retired from the mill
he had to keep working
like greyhounds have to run
whether there is a track or not. Every morning
except Sunday, he woke up before the sun
drank his coffee and read his paper
while sitting on the toilet and
put on his clean and ironed gray shop clothes
and went out to the workshop
he designed and built himself
and he stayed there
except for a half hour at lunch,
when he went back in the house
so my grandmother could make
his sandwich – unless
someone hired him to build something,
like cute little Nancy Houserman’s parents did.
And when he died
they all attended the visitation,
along with Nancy and her parents
and they all cried a little,
remembering this man
who did not know how to stop
until the cancer gave him
no other option.
And after he was gone
the world moved on
and Nancy and I grew up
and by now
her parents probably sold the house
to people who don’t even know
the name of the man
who built the staircase.
