Love Letters Elsewhere

Participate in Lethargic Exercises

I got locked out of my house once,
so I began to smash garden gnomes.
The neighbors got mad,
told me to leave them alone-
I told them no.
The cops pulled up,
said, "Are your parents home?"
I told them no,
told them I tried calling their phones.
The cop got a bit sad,
and his hand formed a fist,
and his lips curled at the corners,
and he wrote my name in a list.
He made me apologize for the gnomes
and to wait patiently outside of my home,
but I didn't want to do it,
so I told him no.
He got a bit sad,
and his hand formed a fist,
but he put it on his hip
and a sentence fell from his lips:
"Why do you have to make it their problem
that your parents aren't here?
Leave your problems to yourself
or you can ask for a little help."
I think it made me mad,
because I started to cry.
He sighed a deep sigh
and wiped his right eye.
He told me it's okay,
and to take a deep breath,
but I didn't tell him
that this was delaying my death.
So, when I got locked out of my home,
and began to smash garden gnomes,
I suppose it was for the better
because it saved me a funeral,
and the effort of an untimely death.