TWO MELANCHOLY POEMS

REMEMBER THIS MOMENT

by matt burns

Remember this moment

Walking down the lake road

The path is a dirty one

Dusty, too

You walk the dog

Feeling like a zombie

On a different frequency

A very low one

Almost hell

The depression’s pulling you into the dirt

A bunch of devils

And demons

Clinging onto you

Dragging you down

And down

Down

Remember this moment

Write it down

Because if you ever shake this feeling

And if there ever is a time

When you’re happy

And things are going quite well

You’ll want to look back on this

And realize how far you’ve come

And not take it for granted

I’LL LEAVE JUST AS EMPTY

by matt burns

Long day so far

A long week

A long month

Long year

A long life

Lunch time

I’m hungry

In the stomach

And in the soul

I pull over into the nearest parking lot

I dial the local sub shop

I order a chicken parm sub

The girl asks if I want skosted

I say what

She says toasted

I say yes

She says ten minutes

I hang up

I suddenly notice I’m in a church parking lot

I didn’t mean for this

I did it subconsciously

I want to walk in and find sanctuary

I need a place that provides such a thing

A place to retreat

Recharge

And regroup

But I’ve been to the church before

And there are some statues

Some murals

An altar

And some holy water

But nothing much else

I’ll walk in there

I’ll have so much hope

But I’ll be let down

And I’ll leave just as hungry 

As I was when I walked in

I put my car in drive

And I leave the parking lot to get my sub

If I can't fill my soul

At least I can fill my stomach

I wish the church could be my sanctuary

But it isn’t

No matter how bad I want it to be

RESCUING OLIVER FROM HEAVEN

RESCUING OLIVER FROM HEAVEN

by matt burns

The boy was sad that his dog Oliver died

He asked his mom where dogs go when they die

His mom told him Oliver was in heaven now

The boy decided he would go and rescue his dog in heaven

The boy asked how he could get there

The mom said by going to Church every Sunday and listening to the priests

The boy went to Church and listened to the priests

After Mass, the boy asked the priest where heaven was

The priest told him high in the sky somewhere

The boy went to his neighbor the pilot and asked if he could fly him to heaven

The pilot laughed and said heaven was inside of him and pointed to his heart

The boy went to the doctor and asked him if he could perform surgery

Open him up

Find heaven

So he could find his dog

The doctor laughed 

The kingdom of heaven is inside you, it’s just a figure of speech, he said

So how do I get to heaven, the boy asked

The doctor didn’t know what to say because he didn’t believe

Ask your mom he said

And the boy was back at square one

The boy was sad that Oliver was far off in some place

And nobody even knew where this place was