Trifecta

We were assigned to write a response to three poems we had read in class; I wrote mine as a poem addressing each in turn.

If sturgeon could speak

I doubt they would wax about war or the Confederacy.

Rather, they would lament the numerous dams

That prevent them from reaching their spawning lands,

Or the pollution of every river, lake, and sea

That they desperately try to flee

As it harms their health and re-productivity.

When Death comes I will welcome it with open arms

Not because it possesses any romance or charm

But, though I love life, and always will

I long to know what lies beyond the crest of that hill.

Some say our souls join God in heaven,

But I haven’t believed that since I was eleven.

I rather think that we release our energy,

And consciousness, whatever that may be,

Goes on like an eternal Turing Machine

Running the same program indefinitely.

A once grand house, dissected into tiny living spaces,

Where the residents greet each other with sagging faces,

Because it’s hard to squeeze a dollar from a dime and pay rent

In this blight stricken tenement.

A shared bath and a dream deferred

Are all anyone is allowed in this neighborhood.