John Grochalski- A Poem

between stupidity and jealousy

i always think the worst

of children in this digital age

that they are

lazy, dull, and ignorant

slabs of flesh

but here it is

a saturday morning in april

a stone’s throw

from my thirty-eight birthday

and i’m walking behind some kid

down a dewy spring street

heading to work

with another goddamned hangover

and a pathetic lunch

while in his hands

this kid has

movies, video games

and a worn looking baseball glove

a whole day

clasped to his breast

as he knocks on a neighbor’s door

and is let inside

by someone’s beautiful mother

while i continue

down the drowsy street alone

my mind stuck somewhere

between stupidity and jealousy

my heart like a hangman’s noose

in the stiff, yellow sun.