One for the Kids
I was your age
When I decided
I’d had enough
I was tired
So, I turned off
The television
Ate a bottle of Valium
And waited
I was so tired
And when I woke up
I was in the ICU
With an endotracheal tube
Shoved down my throat
A Foley catheter
Inserted into my bladder
And an immense
Feeling of gratitude
That I had not
Been conscious
For any of it
And an even greater
Feeling of sadness
That I was still alive
And that my mother
Would have to explain
To her physician
Why she needed
An early refill
David Burdett
5/17/2024
Motel Hell
The three of us
In that seedy motel
The air reeking
Of roach poison
Cigarette smoke
Methamphetamine
And bleach
From the jacuzzi
To the kitchenette
I am in Hell
I remember
Thinking
As I wracked
My brain
For a polite way
To excuse myself
From the madness
Of my psychotic
Companions
And their
One-way
Expedition
To the outer limits
Of nowhere
David Burdett
1/10/2022
Foursquare Nightmare
As a kid
I lived next door
To a Pentecostal
Foursquare church
My grandmother taught
Sunday school there
Which meant
I was required to attend
Maybe there is a God?
Because in between
The convulsing
On the floor
Speaking
In tongues
And rampant
Pedophilia
It’s a miracle
That I didn’t
Turn out
More fucked-up
Than I am
David Burdett
5/16/2024
Aloha from Nowhere
I can remember
The most terrible things
Detail for detail
A ballpoint drawing
Of Lucifer
On the back of
An expired TV guide
Is still etched
On my mind:
Aloha from Hawaii!
Elvis has left the building
And though
I don’t think
I’ll ever truly know
Whether the king
Died on the toilet
Or not
I do know
That it was around
The same time
That my life
Went down
The shitter
David Burdett
5/16/2024
Nice Camaro
There’s something
To be said
For not caring
But still giving a shit
There’s something
To be said
For knocking
On a stranger’s door
Being invited in
By a beautiful woman
And told
You must be Danny’s friend
Let me see if he’s awake
There’s something
To be said
For rolling the dice
In a drunken stupor
On a Thursday evening
And meeting
Some random dude
Named Danny
Who has no idea
Who you are
Because he’s never
Seen you before
There’s something
To be said
For leaving
The living room
Drapes open
Empty beer bottles
On the porch
And advertising
The music you love
On the bumper
Of your Camaro
There’s something
To be said
For all of it
Ask Danny
He’ll tell you
David Burdett
5/13/2024