John Dempsey - Maybe I’m Just Shallow

Near fatal car crashes,
natural disasters that leave you clinging
to some ravaged palm tree
staring at all the
floating
bodies below, escaping a burning building while your geriatric
neighbors
inhale smoke, cough and-
remembering first kisses,1950’s showgirls, the faces of grandchildren- tumble
onto the carpet (inflexible
Atropos) , waking up
from a 3-year coma- the wife
has run off with a vacuum cleaner
repair man, your children
staring at you like you’ve stepped out of ghost story- you see the light, reach for
one
Good Book
or another, pray silently, and there you are; reborn.

Me?
I check the calendar, call the bank, (and maybe I’m just shallow,
but when you’re broke
and collect vices like baseball cards…) I see that my paycheck has cleared,
the balance is no longer a negative number,
and I thank every god I can think of
like some confused
zealot.

John Dempsey

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/maybe-i-m-just-shallow/