I Need A Breath Of Fresh Air

I need a breath
Of fresh air
I need more air to breathe
Right now
I feel like a        
Gold Fish out of water
Because I need
More air to breathe

I need to do
like the little doggies do
and go take a piss
on the nearest tree
Yes I need to do
like the little doggies do
and go and take a piss
on the nearest
available tree

Just the other day
I met a little grey squirrel
who looked me straight
in the eye
Yes, I met a little grey squirrel
the other day
who had the unmitigated gall
the unmitigated chutzpah
to dare to look me straight
in the eye
Just what do you mean
by doing that
Or are you just looking
to get a black eye?
Because I’m feeling
just mean enough
right now
to cook you
in a pan of grease fry

Some nights
I just feel like going out
to start howling and
screaming at the moon
like a Siberian grey wolf
to just sit outside
under my juniper tree
just a howlin and a bayin at
the too goddamn big
harvester moon
and I’d like to see
if anybody would
open their doors to
just try and stop me
(just think
the next howling neighbor
that you might hear
some moon lit starry night
might just be you)

I haven’t been feeling
much like socializing
these past few days
sort of like a bear
holed up in his cave
best to stay away
and leave the bear alone
at least
until the winter
comes to an end
and the river
again begins to flow
maybe then
I’ll want to wander
back outside
to grab me
a jumping salmon or two
If I’m feelin
once more
in the mood

I need a breath
Of fresh air
I need more air to breathe
Right now
I feel like a        
Gold Fish out of water
Because I need
More air to breathe

When I was once
a much younger man
I once met
the great surreal
painter and
surreal artist
Salvador Dali
by a freak accident

Nowadays
whenever
I get to catch
a glance of myself
in the living room mirror
(also by freak accident)
I can hardly believe that
I was ever
that kind of a man

jhmarkowitz
Philadelphia, Pa., 2012