PLUGGING UP THE HOLES

PLUGGING UP THE HOLES
by matt burns

Like a boat that was poorly constructed from the very beginning

Something doesn't feel right
You're too far offshore to easily turn back
One hole forms
The water spouts up
And you plug that hole with your finger
Then another hole forms
The water spouts
And you plug that one up with your finger
Another hole presents itself
Your toe's next
Another hole 
Another toe!
Then a crack grows from one of the holes
And another crack from another hole
More cracks
More leaks
Cracks
Leaks!
This feels familiar
You've seen it in a cartoon before
Not sure which one
But you've seen it for sure

This is what it feels like fixing the plot to a screenplay

I HOPE SHE THINKS I'M CUTE

I HOPE SHE THINKS I'M CUTE
by matt burns

The girl takes my order for a coffee
She doesn't seem all that nice
She's curt with her answers
Not too welcoming
Not very smiley
Kind of like I'm an inconvenience to her
Then I wonder maybe she's just shy
Her shyness is translating into rudeness
And she's even more shy cuz she thinks I'm cute

For all I know
She may only be 17
She's likely way too young for me
But I get insulted when a girl of any age doesn't think I'm cute
Hell, I'm insulted when gay men don't think I'm cute
So I hope she thinks I'm cute

THE MEANINGS CHANGE WHILE THE COLORS REMAIN

NOTE: This is a weird kind of a poem, but I still wanted to post it here. It is written more as prose, but it's short and sweet like a poem. I say it's a poem so that's what it shall be considered. Thanks.

A symbol of racism or freedom?

THE MEANINGS CHANGE WHILE THE COLORS REMAIN
by matt burns

The colors remain. But the meanings change.

The Confederate flag was once a symbol of freedom. So wasn't the Union flag. But Confederate States denied freedom to blacks so it really symbolized freedom...with exceptions. While the Union flag symbolized freedom with absolutely no exceptions.

Today, the Confederate flag has been demonized. There's a witch hunt for anybody who flies this flag. The South Carolina State House has been forced to take their flag down. Walmart has stopped selling these flags. TV stations are shelving their reruns of the "Dukes of Hazard" show. As absurd as it may sound, people have even suggested that we lock the classic film Gone with the Wind inside a vault, never to be shown again. Same with Griffith's Birth of a Nation.

People who like the flag and still want to fly it have been persecuted. Pressured. Even forced to take it down. Regardless of any 1st amendment rights. 

And therein lies the irony.

Today's American flag (formerly the Union flag) and the Confederate flag have traded symbolic meanings. The Confederate flag has become a symbol of pure, unadulterated freedom, a true champion for the 1st amendment. While the "Union flag" has become a symbol of freedom...with exceptions.

Over time, a flag can come to symbolize many different things. After all, it's just cloth with colors.

The colors remain. But the meanings change.

TEND YOUR KIDS, NOT A GARDEN

Like many of my poems, this is based on a true story:

"Everyone thinks of changing the world,

but no one thinks of changing himself." 

                                          --Leo Tolstoy

TEND YOUR KIDS, NOT A GARDEN
by matt burns

The red-headed boy runs at the family of geese
And the other boy rides his bike at them
The geese run off into the woods 
Scared
The red-headed boy throws a rock at them as they flee
I don't know if it hits any of them
They're hidden by the trees now

I'm walking my dog
Too far away to discipline these boys
Shouting like I want to will only scare my own dog
The costs outweigh any benefits
I'm muzzled

I turn the corner
I see the oblivious mother of the boys tending a garden
Some sort of 'green' project in front of the elementary school
I want to slap her in the face
Wake her up

Tend your own kids
Before you tend a fucking green garden

I TOLD HER I'VE NEVER PLAYED ANGRY BIRDS WHEN I REALLY HAVE

I TOLD HER I'VE NEVER PLAYED ANGRY BIRDS WHEN I REALLY HAVE
by matt burns

I told her I've never played Angry Birds
I was uncomfortable
I knew nobody at the party
And sometimes I lie to make conversation.
I guess I could have said I played Angry Birds
And we still would have had conversation.
Instead, I asked what it's like
Why's this game all the rage?
I've played Angry Birds so many times
But I played dumb.

I've never been very conscious of this
But I lie quite a bit
When I'm uncomfortable
And desperate for conversation
Desperate to fill in the silence
Desperate to fit in
Feel like I connect
And exist.
I've never viewed myself as a pathological liar
But maybe
In this light
I am.