by Bart Edelman
Say the devil’s in the details,
At least, those we may discover
Sad Poem Syndrome
Had more than enough
Of the sad poem syndrome,
Employing the downcast deadbeats,
Who perpetually sought me out.
Now I need to turn them away,
Despite the various grief-stricken stages
They offer, morning, noon, and night.
How to tell them my makeshift office
No longer accepts the insurance
They’re still happy to provide,
As long as I continue treating them
For one malady after another.
And, sure, the money allows me
To keep up my lifestyle,
But at what ultimate cost
Must I repay the lingering debt—
These prescriptive words of doubt,
I need surrender without delay,
If I hope, one day, to be cured.
Milk of Amnesia
For whatever ails us.
Places us deep in sleepland.
When we eventually awake,
We can’t remember our names,
Faces on the planet,
Any objectionable event.
Goes down smooth and creamy.
Even the cow forgets it disappeared.
Prescribed by doctors, left and right,
To treat maladies aplenty.
Refills issued but only until
Legislators give it a whack.
Say the devil’s in the details,
At least, those we may discover,
And imagine it might be so.
Still, we’re unable to recall
The last vote we cast – or why.
© Bart Edelman
Bart Edelman‘s poetry collections include Crossing the Hackensack (Prometheus Press), Under Damaris’ Dress (Lightning Publications), The Alphabet of Love (Ren Hen Press), The Gentle Man (Ren Hen Press), The Last Mojito (Ren Hen Press), The Geographer’s Wife (Ren Hen Press), Whistling to Trick the Wind (Meadowlark Press), and This Body Is Never at Rest: New and Selected Poems 1993 – 2023 (Meadowlark Press). He has taught at Glendale College, where he edited Eclipse, a literary journal, and, most recently, in the MFA program at Antioch University, Los Angeles. His work has been widely anthologized in textbooks published by City Lights Books, Etruscan Press, Fountainhead Press, Harcourt Brace, Longman, McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall, Simon & Schuster, Thomson/Heinle, the University of Iowa Press, Wadsworth, and others. He lives in Pasadena, California.
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