Golden Shovel #3

 

The silent man

by Thomas Page

after Allen Ginsberg

“I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves”

–“Howl”

Catching up with friends is akin to when I

Try to desperately cut a board with a saw

Making no progress because I never had the

Skills to do so in the first place. Even if I had the best

Public speaking skills from my time with Toastmasters of

My local homeschool group, my

Speeches would go over the new generation

Of public speakers like a lead balloon because my speech destroyed

Any semblance of clarity caused by

Low speaking voice with accents marked by a madness

Of several different cities fighting, starving

For a clear accent. Is it English? Southern? Californian? Making hysterical

Sayings out loud such as “butt naked”

Or “from the ghetto” in place of dragging

 

Metaphors we all hold in polite conversation. I suggest my friends talk among themselves.