Michael Batchelor's Blog, page 23

Hey, Look at Me!

Scrolling with a frown
Looking at smiles
Smile
After
Smile
After
Smile
Sitting at home
Looking at holidayers
Holiday
After
Holiday
After
Holiday
Is it aspirational?
Or just plain depressing

Productive Laziness

I woke up today
And decided to be productive
So I stayed home
And read a book
From sunup to sundown
I didn’t buy anything
I didn’t drive anywhere
I didn’t hurt anyone

I left the earth alone

Society's Guidebook

I’ve been around for 32 years now
And I’m still yet to find society’s guidebook
Everyone keeps talking about it
Insisting I follow its rules
So I set out to find it
I went to the library
But they didn’t have it
I went to the bookshop
But they didn’t have it
I asked my family
But they didn’t have it
I asked my friends
But they didn’t have it
I felt left out
Because everyone had read it
And had society figured out

Oh well
I’ll keep looking

Spinning Bobby Frost’s Grave

To those who don’t think
This type of poetry
Isn’t actual poetry
Fine
Here ya go:
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Happy now?
Fuck you

Stranger Friends

If you’re ever at home feeling lonely
Just know there’s a million people
Out there like you
Also feeling lonely
Wishing they could know you
So take comfort in knowing that
You’re alone together

The Homeless Man

I was sitting in the library one day
Looking out the window
And there was a homeless man
Sitting on the ground
With a big cardboard sign that said: HOMELESS
And a big white bucket
I watched him now and then
And everyone walked past
Without dropping money in the bucket
Until one man walked past
With his dog
Who came up for pats

Why can’t we be more like dogs?

The Expired Worker

I’ve been in the job
So long now
That I’m the last one
Of the old team
I’m part of the furniture
The lamp in the corner
Covered in dust
Barely working

Sex Dolls

Let’s go out to dinner
Have some drinks
Then go back to yours
To fuck
To masturbate each other
Before waking up
In the sober morning
Full with pleasure
Yet feeling empty

Dad

Dad
You say you're okay
But you're forgetful, you're irritable
I'm worried you're fading away

It was subtle at first
Words forgotten here and there
But now it's getting worse
It's getting hard to bear

You turn to your wife
When the word is lost
Yet when she provides it
You still get cross

Because you're frustrated
With a cord not quite connected
A wound of the mind
That cannot be sutured

Secretly, I think you're worried too
But you're too tough
Too stubborn
To come and talk it through

So I don't know what to say
I don't know what to do
I just hope, dear God
Our hunch isn't true

But if it is
And I become a stranger
Please don't forget
You'll always be my father

Business As Usual

Work harder
And longer
Without extra pay
But you’ll get a group thank you
Over messenger
Which you’ll ‘thumbs up’
But would prefer to raise another finger