“The Rubáiyát of My Old Man” by Edison Jennings (poetry, ’99)

An excerpt from “The Rubáiyát of My Old Man” by Edison Jennings (poetry, ’99), available in The American Journal of Poetry:

 

“The Rubáiyát of My Old Man”

No jug of wine, a G&T,
No loaf of bread, a BLT,
Lunching at the country club,
Content among the bourgeoisie,

Possessing most of my desire:
Enough money to retire,
A cozy condo on the coast,
A divorcée to light my fire.

And though all that is doubtless nice,
It somehow doesn’t quite suffice;
My comfy middleclass excess
Doesn’t make for paradise. […continue reading here]