Lazarus Riseth Again... For Gore Poem by r james sterzinger

got out of bed
went to the shower
Lazarus, Lazarus
who riseth thee from the dead
I thought.

middle-aged overweight
(some)
not giving a damn
(a little)
who is this man
with a bad haircut
looking back at me?

the mirror doesn't lie
like I do to myself
old eyes that need
glasses now
hair thinning
(one way to get rid of a bad haircut)
and then
the tea stained teeth

what all doesn't work
as well as it once did?
I say as I look down.
I seem to have abandoned myself

I have one chore this morning
some potatoes have rotten
on the bottom of the bag in the hall

I fish out three juicy stinkers
and three with mold
throw them in the garbage
sack them up.

put two more
in the microwave to eat
the rest in a shopping bag
back into the hall

then I take the stinkers and molders
out into the alley
in the rain
with only a ratty bathrobe on.

I go back into the house
put cheese on my potatoes
write this poem


“Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.”
Gore Vidal