PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qbpaz-u5WIE

"oh, it was a horrible wrongdoing!

you should have been there,

the way he spoke to her, 

after all she had gone through,

it made everyone want to 

hang him...see him suffer good!

and what about the mother?

she was just as bad...

whacked out crack whore

too busy to even feed her own baby!

what should we do?

i say DEMAND an apology!

HANG the son-of-a-bitches,

but first make them suffer good!

why should we tolerate this crudity?

we ALL deserve an apology

at the very least! 

who do they think they are?

don't they realize we are human beings?

we are deserving of RESPECT!!

the way they spoke to us is just plain wrong!!

we can't let them think they can get away with this!"

****************************

i listen to the words 

of a small group of people

outside in the hallway

of the municipal court building 

whilst waiting patiently 

to pay my traffic ticket.

i am eavesdropping, yes,

one of the habits i have, 

mostly due to my joy for people-watching.

but in this case, 

also due to the fact that

i am upset with myself at the moment,

because one ticket in 12 years

has spurred me into a multi-faceted

voyage of self-introspection

that has now lasted for the past 3 weeks,

as getting tickets 

has always been my 

'personal summons' as well as 

the financial penalty it so kindly

lavishes on my ever-dwindling checking account.

as a means to briefly escape 

beating myself up for the past 3 weeks,

i take a short glimpse 

into a different outlook

on the moment,

as i indulge in my own 

little secret self-righteousness,

playing both judge and jury

on the indignant ones next to me in the hallway,

and reach an opinion of their complaints.

it goes like this:

first of all,lady, i don't know 

what happened here,

but have you read the sign on the building

that says 'municipal court'? 

that sort of means this is not a huge deal,

and the reason it isn't is because 

this town is full of people just like you,

who think we have nothing better to do here

except have 'group therapy' all freaking day long.

second of all, you with the demand sign 

and noose in your back pocket--

get a dam* grip on yourself,

before you die from your own mortification,

because it might come to your surprise,

that you aren't the first person in the world

to have someone call you out--

happens every day, you're just too self absorbed 

to notice when it happens around you to others,

and furthurmore, the entire thing about 

being a human being means that

nobody's flawless, so get over it, pal.

thirdly, not to make this a family gathering,

but all of your mothers must have 

had one too many, the night before she 

packed your 'social skills survival kit',

because she obviously forgot to tell you

that respect is a two way street,

and it doesn't happen just because 

somebody did something wrong to you,

it's something you create with others,

and most times you create more of it for yourself

through your example of being it, 

than you ever could with demands--

that's just the way it works.

so if you're saying you need an apology to 

act like a decent respectful human being,

shame on you, i am embarrassed to 

share the species with you, little miss perfect---

---and now I have to take a recess 

because they just called my name!!

as i walk towards the door, 

one of the women in the group

taps me on the arm. she holds in her hand two 

shiny pennies, and looks up at me

saying, 'did you drop this'?

i look at her and can't help smiling a little,

'no, honey, i gave my two cents, that's for you'. 

with a puzzled look on her face, i make 

my way past and into the courtroom.

never did have to pay for that ticket.

turns out, the first ticket is considered 

a second chance here... love it!

Court Is Adjourned!!

12:43 AM 7/2/2013