Skim Milk, Cream
written by: Thomas Park
@mystified131
In the painting, the poet
Sat calmly at his desk, feathered pen in hand
Myself, I was visiting a friend
Out of money, mind blurry
From illness
Perhaps that was one of several times
That I went off of my meds
To prove my ability
Jake let me into his apartment
He had tracked my degeneration
Watched me get sick
He set a cd on the floor, spun it
Spoke to me of truth, hallucination
Light reflected off of the disc’s metal surface
He handed me a jar of pennies and nickels
I left the apartment
I carried the coins to the bus stop,
(They would help with fare home
And food for some days)
The bus door opened, my pants,
Too large, began to fall down
Pulling them up, I dropped the change jar
The bus of commuters
Watched mutely as hundreds of pennies and nickels
Spilled in the steps of the bus
On the street, the sidewalk
Observed patiently as I picked them up
Frantically, with great shame
I gave a few of Jake’s coins to the driver
And started my journey home
At this point, you might imagine
That I am cleaning my poet’s pen
And returning it to its jar
As the writer Philip K. Dick suggests,
“Things Are Not Always As They Seem
Skim Milk Masquerades As Cream”.
A big poetic inspiration is Philip Levine with his works that pay tribute to hard-working people. Thomas would like to follow in Mr. Levine's footsteps.
- Of Unity - June 28, 2018
- Honeymoon In Mexico II - May 13, 2018
- Protect Your Choices - April 1, 2018
