Stone Soup Croutons is a weekly poem I write using lines and impressions picked up from poems overheard from Stone Soup's open mic readers and features. I figure out a title the next morning.
Last night was Petrina Skyy's feature. We went a little long yesterday, given the size of the open mic. I ended up not reading my crouton poem last night. That's only happened one other time so far. I needed some time to flesh it out anyway. It's hard to start with a Taxi Driver reference and work your way to attempting to write about compassion. I grabbed from so many people this week, it's almost two poems the way it seems to end with God and somehow found a way to continue.
Human Resource
Everyone on your bus to work
is Travis Bickle without a taxi
or your next heart breaker
or both.
The river of compassion runs
alongside our commuter road,
two lines parallel and oblivious
to each other, like piano keys
that are never played
at the same time.
If one side is paved
or repaved
would we notice the difference,
or would we just be looking
for a closer place
to do our laundry
when all we want
is a button we press
to talk to God,
no pushing infinity
for an available representative,
but a direct line.
If God doesn't know compassion,
he will learn apprehension
each time his phone rings.
At the top of every building we work in
is an entrepreneur who thinks it knows
what everybody wants
and charges you to not get it.
They will tell you anything
except repeat back your name.
To them noting is an inconvenience
except your life.
Outside your reposts of angry memes,
somewhere, a light blue volume
of confessions.
Who would have thought
any one could use paper
to hide behind?
Now they can't truly know
everyone you've ever loved.
How can they know what you want?
Thoreau went to the woods.
All you have to do is look down
while above, building tops wish they could bend.
Special thanks to Jamila Ouriour, Gabriel Thomas, David Miller, Martha Boss, The Buddaphliii, DiDi Delgado, Silent E, Jeannie Nunes, Jonathan J. Joseph, Petrina Skyy and Chris Fitzgerald.
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