Gross Profit Marginalia

no

words for the blank

space where

it’s written

we all end up

when we run out

of money to burn.

Overlooking Lethe

Once upon a time,

My ancestors

Believed all they had done

And suffered would be washed away

Once they were to drink its waters;

Those poor dead souls—

No one ever told them

When alive,

Remembering is what we have to do

Lest we forget

We’re all on the brink

Of dying.

Luck of the Draw

—for Elisabeth, in lieu of a comment

Bored to death with life,

Why does he think it so

Uncommonly oxymoron

To consider himself

Lucky in that

He’s still in the running

For the surefire ticket

That will take him out

Of the ordinary.

Huuklyeand Cinquor on Why Hubris Is Blasphemous

Hell, every time I swear

I’m one step nearer to God,

Some cloven-hoofed preacher

Puts his foot in my mouth.

Moderator’s comments: What the devil, Cinquor, watch your step and cheer up; Christmas is just around the corner!

Dream Scene

On a barren, godforsaken crest,

A great snowy owl leaving

Her neophyte alone

On the edge of their nest—

The nest a huge cotton swab,

A cloudlike canopy covering

The uppermost reaches

Of a lone pine tree.