TOGETHER, WE RUN

TOGETHER, WE RUN
Henry Miller once wrote,
“in my sober moments…”
and then
as he tended to do
went on some epic rant.
me?
in my sober moments
I get to thinking about settling down
finding a girl
to make into a bride
and keep as a wife
maybe have a couple little turds
to raise up in our likeness
to inflict our values upon
I think about money and wealth
maybe really grind it hard for a while
put together a little fortune
I think about antique trucks
and weekends off
vacations to distant lands
which I’ve already been to
but this time with travel companions
other than poverty, drunkenness and misery
I think about a healthy body
a healthy mind
creation instead of destruction
but after enough of this thinking
after enough of these sober moments have passed
it all gets very overwhelming yet boring
then it becomes dreadful
and eventually utterly terrifying to me
then I am again gone
back to the bar
back to the bottle
back to the beasts with whom I run
and I run and run and run
with the wild herd
some male and some female
some weak
who will eventually get picked off
and some strong
who will run forever
until death snatches them up
to nobody’s surprise
some are leaders and others, followers
but no matter what we are
where we go
we are one
and together, we run