Disturbed

They say I am mildly disturbed

I stay awake at night, have paranoid visions

Have no girlfriend, nothing

I scratch my head for no apparent reason

I talk to myself and laugh in mid-sentence

They say I am mildly disturbed

Like blue detergent flushing

Down a toilet bowl

I am not mildly disturbed

But I feel like a prisoner in concrete walls

I wish I had a friend I could talk to

I think that would make a difference

I wish I lived in a community

That was concerned about my welfare

A farm or something, and we could work together

And I don’t like carrying guns anymore

And I don’t even like rock n’ roll anymore

I have permanently turned off my television

Because I’m convinced it’s giving me cancer

I don’t really like machines that run on

Electricity, gasoline or other resources

Except my coffeemaker, I am a coffee addict

It’s getting out of control

If I was having sex every night

I would stop drinking coffee

Attention ladies, I like most of you

I would like to have a relationship with you

You can be the dictator every once in awhile

Let’s reproduce in the name of the anti-corporate regime

Let’s never make love in public places

Let’s burn all the porno houses down

And blow up every satellite dish

Together, we can put an end to sodomy

 

I Love You

My grandmother said, “I love you” on the phone

Every time we talked

After she was diagnosed with dementia

More times than I can count

More than any lover

More than any friend

She wanted those words to linger

Long after memory was erased

 

These days my grandmother

Doesn’t know who I am

She stares at me

As though I’m a stranger

Come to ransack the place

 

As a child, I imagined this world

As my permanent home

I had no idea we could

Travel to other places

Even disappear

Even while alive

 

I just want to say, “Thank you,” Grandma

My gratitude is immeasurable

For the comforts you provided

Just by smiling

I miss you so much it hurts

 

Miles Liss

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