Things To Do Instead Of Doin’ Meth
The young man who installed our internet
said the next county over is the meth capital
of the state. He half-laughed and said It’s sad,
but there’s really nothing else for people to do.
I found that opinion bleak for his age so I said
Well they could read the collected stories of
William Trevor or study the rich history of wine
or count bald eagles on Lake Catherine, right?
He hesitated a moment then said Yeah, I guess
that’s true, but most of ’em’d rather do meth.
I wanted to ask him Who’s the president of
the meth capital, like the head honcho?
But I wanted installed internet more and
I could see our conversation distracted him.
He finished the job (well done) and left with
all my banking information plus at least
three strong contenders for a lush new list:
THINGS TO DO INSTEAD OF DOIN’ METH.
Hahahahahaha. Are you cutting the list off at some point, like after the list has 500 ideas? Or a thousand?
I was preparing to teach our church’s addiction class on shame yesterday and I re-watched Johann Hari’s TED Talk on Rat Park, so your poem was timely. The question that haunted me as I read was “Have these people had enough genuine connection to another person to know that they are looking for just that.”
I’m so glad that you are writing again. We need your words in the world (certainly more than we need meth in the world!)
Sad state of affairs ??♂️
I love your poetry, John. I enjoy the free style and food for thought.