THE LONGER I'VE LIVED

the more I realize
I've descended
from a long & noble line
of idiots, degenerates,
the sick & maimed & mad
& misbegotten; a proud & frugal
fellowship of ne'erdowells,
neandethals, cons & crooks,
brilliantly out of step, awry,
lamposts drunk
with a foul & yellow sheen.
Those who bit down hard
on mother's tit and never managed
to spit it out
almost sure
the milk not spoiled
but magical
& necessary
(for balance?)

I'm near the end of it,
I think, clawing
at the earth
that will have no choice
but to take me back
& give me
cover.

Norman Savage
Greenwich Village, 2018