Poetics Presents

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Poetics Presents

Jack Good

Jack Good is the alter ego of Maikel Stanley Markiet, a laid-off plumber who is a dishwasher at the moment. The two egos reside in the city of Winston Salem, North Carolina.

WVU members look forward to reading more of Jack's work.

ANGRY YOUNG MAN

Angry young man,
yes, you there,
shuffling down the street
with your blood-shot eyes
sneering at the world,
your long hair blowing in the breeze.
What are you so angry about?
You dropped out of high school,
and did so with a victorious shout.
You snubbed your nose at higher education,
you smoked dope your whole life long,
and didn't give a hoot about your destination.
Now you dare bitch that the world's unfair:
that "God's asleep" and "doesn't care,"
because you can't find a job
paying a decent wage.
But did you listen to your father,
that kindly old sage,
when he told you to stay in school?
Of course not!
Instead you laughed in his face,
called him a sucker
and an establishment slave.
Then you lighted up a smoke
to prove how free you were,
how cool.

Angry young man,
yes, you there,
you used to laugh a lot
when you smoked your pot.
You used to dance for your friends
until the night's dewy end
proving you were cool
when you should have been in school.
And look at you now!
You're getting old,
you're all alone
stuck out in the cold.

Angry young man,
yes, you there,
where are all your friends now?
Have they all moved away?
Of course they did!
The world has moved on,
but you're still living in yesterday
with your long greasy hair,
and blood-shot eyes
pretending not to have a care.

Angry old man,
yes, you there,
why is your face so long?
Have you finally begun to realize
that an education would've been wise?
That your father was right,
and you were wrong?