Untitled by Matthew Abuelo

Untitled

The Kakocracy has finally won.
Didn’t you know that?
The rats at the helm
No longer fear the rat catcher.
He was been bought a long time ago
And is nothing more than an errand boy
Or file clerk
Who knows his place.

Birth has become an act of pure brutality
as mothers deliver them to the ring.
You better learn to shadow box, kid
because some of them shadows could break your ribs
with just one shot.

The worst thing that can happen
to those who have never learned to lose
is to look up from the canvass
at the fan whirling high above
the title fight which never ends.

The horror of the unreasonable man
Is to grow lame before the final bell
And never be able to get back up again.
It is here
from money to the body
everything is owed and nothing is kept.
It’s just rent.
It’s always just rent.
Even the nameless
will pay the cost of living in a box.
Mothers!
If you love your children don’t let them be born
Not now.
Not till we drag the trickster monkey
To the guillotine.
In his right hand
Is the twenty first century
Which came on like a curse
But was delivered
As a bullet.

The only thing that will remain
are those mornings which come with an eviction notice
and a court date.
Those who survive
know the meaning
of the SRO of the heart.
At these depths
All birth is Kabuki theater.
Theater sold on the cheap.
Theater given away
Like a hot shot.
Chances are you will
Never pull that needle out.
In the wards
no angel dares to fly
not if he wants
to find his way back up
to reach the surface
once more
before the mandatory 72 hours
expires
and the man at the door hands
you back your shoes
without laces.
Either walking through the heavy metal door
or being washed out
in afterbirth
the lesson we all learn
is
the future
has become a torn dress
lost in a warehoused apartment
in
in a forgotten borough.
It was a crime committed
by a Robber Baron’s pale hand.
It was just another show for all of us to see
as if it was just a sporting event
only this time
all those who watch
are an unwilling audience.

Matthew Abuelo is a writer, professional blogger and award winning poet. He has three books out, Last American Roar and Organic Hotels, His third book “The News Factory” released by Plain view Press, the first two can be found at lulu.com. He is a former journalist for the online news site Examiner and he most recently worked for the Times Square Chronicles as a housing rights journalist and political commentator.

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