Six

"Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character."

God, am I ready!

Ready to be rid of these

These defect uncontrollable

As hiccups and as surly

As a wild animal live trapped

As cruel as a child with magnifying

Glass as self absorbed as an 

aging actress peering through

The looking glass.

Goddess, am I ready!

To exfoliate all this diseased

Skin off, all 34 layers, till I'm

Pink and new, till I never feel sad

Or scared or shake as tree branches

In a storm, till I never wear shoes

I found orphaned in a parking lot,

Till this is who I am and no one

Knows any better.

Jesus, I am ready!

Since childhood I chased joy

And love like the coyote pursues

Roadrunner, but only got firstborns

Dead and locusts instead.

I want happiness quiet like 

A catnap in Spring and imposing

Like a mountain range.

Buddha, I am so ready!

I thought your sumo belly

Would want to weigh in.

I am ready to release it

All into the vast blackhole

Of space to be burned up

Solar flares and scattered

Ashes of star dust to be

Made new.

Aphrodite, I am really ready!

You can see I'm desperate

Please kiss away my eagerness,

My loneliness in love, how I am

The only one you see, 

Who needs your kisses 

From above.

George Washington, I am very ready!

Let's try anyone now, I pledge to do

the work, the labor, chop cherry trees,

Stack wood, wipe brow sweat,

and build a wall, to wait patiently

till I see the white flags in their eyes,

In you we trust, to make me heal,

for a growing public, in which I stand,

To be liberated from it all.

x