Lighter

By Dorianne Laux

"Live a little above morality"

-Ruth Gordon, "Harold and Maude"

Steal something worthless, something small,

every once in a while. A light from the counter

at the 7-eleven. Hold that darkness in your hand.

Look straight into the eyes of the clerk

as you slip in your pocket, her blue

bruised eyes. Don't justify it. Just take

your change, your cigarettes, and walk

out the door into the snow or hard rain,

sunlight bearing down, like a truck, on your back.

Call it luck when you don't get caught.

Breathe easy as you stand on the corner,

waiting, like everyone else, for the light to change,

following the cop car with your eyes

as it slowly rolls by, ignoring the babies

in their shaded strollers. Don't you want

something for nothing? haven't you suffered?

Haven't you been beating down, condemned

like a tenement, gone to bed hungry, alone?

Sit on a stone bench and dig deep for it,

touch your thumb to the greased metal wheel.

Call it a gift from the gods of fire.

Call it your due.

Lighter

What is real life to you?

Lies, Procrastination, Having a good time?

We all get these symptoms

So don't worry.

The homeless

The poor

The weak

The uneducated

The sick

The list goes on.

survive the good times, the laughs, the joy

the emotional rising action towards a great climax

thought as logic, logical thoughs create animosity to the heart.

Life is build on flash,

and not fire.

This is real life,

Live.