Pointless
An earlier draft of this poem first appeared in Clearing My Throat. Selected Poems (Paragon Press 2022).
Mary Magdalene’s an inch offside with her first touch on the cross
Jesus saves then takes eternity to hoof a long ball out the box
He says he wants me for a sunbeam and he offers me a quarter
But I think I’ll keep my clean sheet for the Devil and his daughter
Its as pointless as a broken pencil or a bottomless Cornetto
As pointless as a fencing mask or Cortazar’s Silent Concerto
I’m in with Marx and Engels and we’ve put it all on red
Adam Smith looks mortified but he’s already dead
I’m looking round the room but there’s no sucker I can see
Then Yanis ups and leaves so I guess that makes it me
Its as pointless as s shaven grizzly bear or a bipolar emoji
As you know I’ll always love you or an alarm call for a baby
Frieda says that history books repeat themselves and who am I to disagree
While Bing and Bob and Cliff gift wrap presents for the tree
Behind the VIP bar there’s bills still to be settled
But I’m all out of credit and the Milky Bars have melted
Its as pointless as a joke without a punchline or a pack of toothless dogs
As one hand clapping in an empty room or one of a pair of clogs
Steve Jobs tells Mahatma Ghandi the one about the Dali Lama’s pizza
And the healer who made one with everything because it would complete her
But she and I we both knew it would only ever end in tears
Although we thought that maybe somehow we might get a few more years.
Its as pointless as a teardrop or a prequel you’ve not seen
As pointless as a pothole on the road that takes you back to where you’ve been
