I trained 364 days
For the iron man triathlon.
I sweat and I bled and I cried
And I came in one hundred and thirty-eighth
At 11:59 pm.
I ached all night
Alone in my tent,
And early Sunday morning,
I peeked out at sunrise
In time to see
People already biking and walking
Swimming and jogging
Along the course for fun.

They were doing it for fun!
It was all just for fun.
It had been
All along.

-jenn

He took to his bed.
He used to sit in his garage
With the garage door up on nice days,
And he'd wave to me as I walked by.
And nice days became good days,
Until finally I'd just see him on his good days.
And now the garage door is down
And the shades are up on his bedroom window.
And I know he's in there looking out,
So I still wave to him when I walk by.
But he's took to his bed,
And I'm walking by eating my tums,
Knowing I'll take to mine someday too.

-jenn

The phone rings early, Wakes me from a dream. It's my own personal bums. I'm so lucky. The woman tells me her roof is leaking and her husband can't do anything about it. I set the phone down To see what all the clatter is about out front. It's just lunchtime at the summer camp. "Do you want a ride?" someone hollers at me as they drive by on a golf cart. "No. I think I'll walk," I say. I get down to the cafeteria, And the food is inedible, But I sit and listen to the string band while everyone else eats. One man has a neckless banjo hanging around his neck . He plays it beautifully with both hands. It sounds angelic, like a harp. The other guy in the middle sings directly to me While he plays his mandolin "Is he flirting with me," I wonder, "Or just performing?" Lunch is over! It's back to Life. I walk back towards it all While carts speed past on the muddy lane, Spitting hard bits of dirt onto my legs and face. I wish I would have worn some other clothes. Some carts tried to get off the path and got stuck in the mud. I nod as I walk past them. When I get back home, I see that I never hung the phone up. My personal bum is still talking, Complaining on forever, But now I know how to answer her. "Your roof is leaking? Mine is, too. Your spaceship broke down? Mine is, too. You need money for parts? Me, too. You're hungry and homeless? Me too, Honey." Cause we're all just somebody's personal bum. -jenn

So I'm trying to re-landscape an old country club, And I'm working an old backhoe, And it's faulty. (Of course it is.) And there's an old lady in the cab beside me, And she's bitching and griping about every single thing I do. (Of course she is.) And the generator ain't Jenin', And the hydraulics ain't tippin the load over like it's supposed to. (Of course it ain't.) So I crawl out on the arm, Straddle the bucket cylinder With my feet swingin free. I start pickin' the rocks up out of the basket by hand And throwin them down on the ground hard. It's kinda fun. (Of course it is!) Then an old man screams at me! Tells me he made those rocks himself! (Of course he did...) Along time ago. (Of course it was.) He's got something special he wants to do with them someday. (Of course he does.) And the carburetor ain't carbin'. Suddenly, it dawns on me, That if you DO ANYTHING, Someone's going to criticize, So you might as well do what you really want to do, So at least you can enjoy that. I'm taking a long hard look at this mountain, Because right now, My pistons, they ain't working either. (Of course they're not.) But I also realize, I never really wanted to move this mountain anyway. I only wanted to sing to it. (Of course I did.)

I don't care about Fifty Shades of Grey I don't care about black or white or tan I just want something to mix into all this blue And make it into something else I don't care about money But gold would mix with blue to make a precious green Royal red could give me purple And I love me some purple But what I'd really like is to mix my blues with yours and somehow come out with turquoise ....

So they showed a nice, wholesome movie At church, a good, old-fashioned Wizard of Oz. And when it was done, The children's minister smiled Sweetly, like Glenda, And said, "Well, what did anyone get out of the movie?" Which one should never ask, Especially in the case of children, For one lad in the back spoke up, "There is no God." "Well," he continued, in answer to the gasps of the faithful, "If witches can die, And monkeys can fly And the great all-knowing, all-doing wizard Turns out to be an old man who needs glasses, Who hides behind a curtain Pressing buttons and pulling ropes, Then yes, I'd say the message of this movie is, "There is no God." Next week they're digging a little deeper in the well. The bulletin says they'll be showing a Three Stooges marathon (With no questions at the end.) -jenn

Puma in the shadows Waiting there for me. Quiet and black and crouched, I see him there When I close my eyes. Only a golden outline Of his glowing eyes I see. He blinks when my eyes open And opens his eyes to see me When mine are shut. He sleeps while I am watchful, But at night when I'm asleep, He prowls around the darkness. He prowls all over me And waits for me to fall. But when I do, He will too, Into some new reality. Maybe there We'll be creatures of the light together, Or creatures of the night together. We won't care, As long as it's the same. - jenn