Sonnet: The Body's Mind Problem
by John Kendall Hawkins
.
I thought that I knew all that there was to
Lonely, lonely, lonely
-Tom Waits, "Lonely"
.
I'm old now and spend time wondering who'll die first --
Chomsky, Nader, Kissinger, Bob Dylan, or me:
three old heroes, a sidekick villain, and a flea
on an itchy, tired dogma with a slopping thirst.
Noam says Think and that's all you really need to know.
Ralph says Think about who governs you and pro-act.
K. says Think and proceeds to sign the devil's pact.
Bob says Think what you will: the cleansing winds will blow.
Cogito ergo sum's about all you can say
is true, and then only if the light is switched on.
Everything else is a gypsy grifter's con;
an old confidence game; living from sway to sway.
I'd like to think at my old age I've learned something
to keep me company in the dark where I sing.
