The Partners

THE PARTNERS.

I like getting drunk. I'm a gentle man,
and to tell you the truth I'm often afraid
and find myself short of refuge.
somewhere between painting and singing

I got no help when I was small--
you didn't ask, for it wasn't coming--
and that is what I am today.
somewhere between painting and singing

When a door opened, I was gone.
I didn't know where I was going,
but I had felt an icy hand.
somewhere between painting and singing

I met the drink and I meet the word.
The three of us found we could work together
at turning the terror into coal.
somewhere between painting and singing

Now we have formed a corporation;
our skills aligned into departments,
we launch the poem upon the world.
somewhere between painting and singing

Our product is aimed at a certain need
not satisfied by the competition;
we anticipate strong demand.
somewhere between painting and singing

It's nice being part of the business world
when you're selling what only you manufacture
from the raw material of your soul.
somewhere between painting and singing

It feels good to take up your tools
and get out on the job in the early morning
when you've passed out of Egypt land.
somewhere between painting and singing

And it's good to think of the work of years
when you and your partners can die in harness,
yourself in everything you sold.
somewhere between painting and singing

DICK JOHNSON's work has appeared in the Georgia Review, Hanging Loose, New York Quarterly, and International Poetry Review. He lives in Colorado.

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COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning