Legacy

In tales of old
 the young lady or lad
  gets wise advice from
         his mom or dad.

in a garden green or maybe
        in front of a throne
maybe it's a wizard...
      I don't fuckin know,
            whatever.
ok, maybe it's an ogre
       at a plastic kitchen table
               smoking Winstons,
drinking coffee black and oily
        listening to shortwave
 on a radio big as a suitcase.

         mysterious advice, dispensed
by this mysterious advisor
      cloaked in his underwear,
   white V neck so old and thin
          like chicken skin
    a forest of black rebellious hair
          poking out.

               "Junior don't....puff..
           carry a fucking knife clipped to ...slurp..
                       your pocket.
           a knife they can see is worse than
                       no knife at all
       because if you have to use it, they should never see it
                   that's why, goddamit, otherwise
          you're just fucking playing and that's going to
                  get you killed, got it?"
       Merle Haggard is stuck in the suitcase with
                   a whining steel guitar, getting
                 attacked by static.
                        shut the fuck up
                and eat your cereal and don't tell
                       your mom I let you have
                            coffee.
                                           -Duarte Gaivota

Dean Young is a bad MF

Crouching on a chair gone cold
 a ledge above the howling dark
these dreams he tries to make unfold
  and conjure them in struggling sparks..
Scratch away with your feeble pen,
 give up and begin again.

  Now the world is not so willing
to embrace the kindled flame.
  It has other ways to light its buildings
electric noise and light's to blame
 but still he scratches with his plastic pen
      his hand freezes, and moves, again.

He knows that there's no use, complaining.
So few have even seen his signal fire,
but still he taps away his time remaining,
   and uses it to make things brighter
He hammers at it with  heroic pen
 until he sees the sun again