So What..... Poem by RIC BASTASA

i owe
respect to you
and much
also to myself
but there is this
flow of the river
inside my
gut and i cannot
stop it

respect can tell
me later
what is it that
is more
divine and
essential but for
now
there is this river
that flows inside
my guts
and i cannot just
stop it....

and so respect
keeps silent and
patient as i in this
river keeps on
murmuring
(while savoring what
this river
wants taking all the
risks of
helpless resistance)
as i
in this humane self
murmurs, "so what? "