*****

Recorded Reading (1:24): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ht5ktu6974bz9c4qvntxp/Not-be-Awful.txt?rlkey=ektokw7g68x3n9qfg9zhypibg&dl=0

*****

Not be Awful

You know that co-worker who can’t
Help himself but spew a rant
On the way anything goes —
The one who always better knows
Than anybody else around?
Dread that harping, rasping sound
Encountered when you sit by him?
Fed ’bout right up to the brim?

And that nosy neighbor who
Parks her van in front of you,
The spot calculated to
Eliminate your household view;
Or cousin never happy is
About the things which bring you bliss,
But sometimes does seem kind of glad
About those which have made you sad?

Before you let them wreck your bliss
I recommend that you try this
On negative influence lurk —
You never know, it just might work!
Close your eyes now — not too tight
Just gently — you see all that light?
Now breathe it in until you glow
And straight to their heart let it go

Wishing them the very best
Fortune words could e’er express —
We just don’t know, we just can’t say
How it might affect their day:
What if they won the lottery,
A long lost relative now see,
What if love walked through the door?
They’d not be awful any more!…

*****

Until removal of the stalker/targeter/vandal/arsonist following her allows her to approach any landlord ~ even for a private parking space ~ and to begin once again to create professional connections and to rebuild her life, this poet presently lives homeless and at a fraction of her nation’s poverty level ~ still working seven days a week to contribute to her society, however.

Arts patrons may visit http://www.UgiftABLE.com , using code #72D-31S, or choose to send a personal check to the poet’s ABLE account. It takes about two weeks for the poet to be notified of your patronage.

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