I tried to be real
but the emotional cost was too high
when I discovered
people preferred the lie I lived
over the honest me.
At least it did not stop the Earth spinning
or more important its molten iron core.
I guess my difficulty is that I do not dance
even when I have the money
to name the tune
since I find rhythm a bit
discombobulating.
The Dead of Antietam photograph exhibit
haunts me still—two lives later.
I tried to learn the origin of boots in cemeteries
at places like Boot Hill
but made the mistake of searching east
of the Mississippi
instead of the western Kansas plains.
None of this has to do with lightning
striking certain types of wet rock and creating RNA.
copyright © 2022 Kenneth P. Gurney
Umflop 