Right & Wrong
You’re right,
I only wrote this cause I could
cause I’m feeling down
and feeling sorry for myself
and years of writing stuff down
means I can write this down
and not die of exposure
You’re right, it’s self-serving
to dwell on the small stuff
when the World suffers so
and I have so much
and I know, I know,
it’s silly and petty and vain
to think that I matter
But you are wrong
to think that is enough
to keep things inside to fester
and erupt eventually
in mass mayhem, or
some other form
of Self expression
And I’m wrong
to harp on the trivial
when such great needs
demand my attention
the World demands
and I try to perform
as inadequate as I am
so we’re right, and
we are so very wrong
to bury our whimpers
and stifle our cringes
when the World demands
and we simply cannot
cannot meet the call
If I’m right,
there’s a whole helluva lot
of folks out there cringing
at the dying planet
and the shrinking Grace
that has kept us glued
to this glob of mud
And if I’m right, indeed
then sitting here writing
and arguing with my Self
may be all I can accomplish
until the World shifts
until Grace dictates
that we rise, as One.
Michael Theroux
Michael Theroux writes from his home office in Northern
California. His career has spanned field botanist, environmental health
specialist, green energy developer and resource recovery website editor. Many
scientific and technical works have been formally and/or self-published;
(Scientific & Technical Publications - CV available, listing 40+ major
works & Teru Talk (https://www.terutalk.com). Entering the public-side of the creative writing field
late in life, at 73, Michael is now seeking publication of his cache of art
writings which may be found, or will soon be seen, in Down in the Dirt and
their semi-annual collection, ‘Cast Off!’, Ariel Chart, 50WS, CafeLit, Poetry
Pacific, Last Leaves, Backwards Trajectory, Small Wonders, Academy of the Heart
and Mind, Preservation Foundation / Storyhouse, Cerasus, The Acedian Review,
Kelp Journal, WordSwell, Hedgeapple, Young Ravens, Instant Noodles, Cosmic
Daffodil,, The Writer’s Journal, the Lothlorien Poetry Journal & its
Anthologies #2 and #4, City Key, Wild Word, Fixator Press and next year’s
California Writer’s Club anthology