Michael Marrotti

Optimistic poetry
is as misplaced
as I am in a field
of Pittsburgh
Steeler fans

Who cares about
men in tights
when there’s an
abundance of
women wearing
yoga pants

The verses are
rendered useless
it defeats the
entire purpose
this is supposed
to be cathartic
not a showmanship
of pleasure

You can’t relate
with the women
I’ve had
my standards
surpassed your
expectations

Nobody cares
that I’ve made it
to Andy Warhol’s
old neighborhood
this is my zip code
my personal preference

It’s all about pain
steak knives used
to warm the soul
from a frigid planet

It’s all about
adjectives and
fractured feelings
saving up funds
that would’ve been
spent on therapy

It’s all about me
it’s all about you
but at the end
of the day
it’s a poor excuse
for perseverance
when nobody
is reading
and the same
damn calamities
keep on happening

Free thinking
don’t cost a thing
come to think of it
it’s on the house

The negation
of asceticism
and display
of my appearance
may be of dubious
nature to you

But that doesn’t grant
you the right
regardless of how
righteous

To jump to the
conclusion
that I need help
from the almighty above

I’m close to him
in this precise moment
the pills have taken effect
I’m soaring like George Soros

Be that as it may
I don’t deal well
with missionary
interlopers

If you hand me
one more
of those self-help
biblical pamphlets

I will show you
how hostile I am
once the tranquility
of these pills
begins to wear off

My initial thought
is fuck you
when she
turns me down
for sex

It usually ends
with me fucking me
a scent of loss
emanating
from my hand

Resent travels
by my side
like a love letter
marked
return to sender

Celibacy
has my hands
softer than
they should be
balled up
in fists
on the verge
of going postal

These clenched
up fists concede
it’s a despicable
world of good folks
being fucked over
by scumbags

Asking the cops
to protect and serve
is like asking
a rapist to use
a condom

There’s
no where to turn
for the
victims of society
besides
conjugal visits
and three square
meals a day
if they pursued
the only option
left at their disposal

Police reports
interrogation
victimized
not antagonistic
I know the truth
it’s not the system
or their defense
it’s the fact that
I’m expendable
and dialogue
is fruitless

What else
is there to say
it’s a cruel world
time to sharpen
up the blade
if I gave back
all that’s been
unjustly given
I’m positive
you can quote me
they’d suffer
the benefits of
enlightenment

Living a life
void of belief
is like using
an anonymous
bar of soap
to scrub away
the unbeknownst
filth of the earth
in a lukewarm shower

Dirty towels
dry away
unguided souls

No transcendence
or declension
when the elevator
is out of service

Not knowing
is not caring
And living a life
free of indoctrination
is a life
of free thinking

It’s an excruciating journey
to walk amongst them
when they’re all united
to march against me
Picket signs
they signed
the proclamation
It only took a glimpse
but that glimpse
is good enough
To fuel their shallow tanks
ignite the flame
and burn down a place
they’ll never comprehend
nor even try to see it
in a bilateral
point of view
The only thing that counts
is how it’s portrayed
in the eyes of a conservative
No room for me
on the one way street
God forbid
you do your own thing
They’ll make you feel special
if you’re not like them
Independence
will leave you battered
and angry
It’s an endless struggle
I’m pleased to be alone