Living and Other Ways To Die

Maybe he ate his vitamins and their minerals and oranges and apples all at once again and again Or ran laughing down the rugged rocks of a ruthless reality Maybe he flew singing up to the cold concrete ceiling on a chair Or drank dated dark liquid from a damp factory dumpsite People think his lungs liked lighting the lily-white smoke they lived on And I’ve even heard he sullenly slit several sections of his wrists so he could sign a letter Maybe he jumped joyfully in front of a jeep window that had Jesus joining hands with Judas for prayer Or pressed the pallets out of the pistol till the pieces pierced his parched throat Maybe he took tablets off the table till they took their toll Or cut carelessly into his chest’s cave and coincidentally revealed his heart People say he bashed his brains out with a baseball bat And some are sure he sucked in air and sat still till his stomach swelled I say he lived life and loved and loathed Living always kills you too quickly.