They told Maurice he wouldn't last long.
So he did
the first thing he could think,
"I want to go
to kindergarten."
Some said,
"There's more to life,"
and he replied,
"But I'm five."
So the family did
what they thought best
and followed the wishes.
First to school,
where the pointlessness gained ground
the more Maurice coughed,
nothing like
a bloody palm
to inspire,
"Fuck colors,"
in a kid at five.
Second
to the world.
What cash could be gathered
spent on tickets to circle.
"The world is wide,"
Dad said
(never saying
he considered
'why haven't I
till now?'),
"You'll be glad to see it."
But the voyage proved
there's too much to miss.
Maurice confessed,
"We can't see it all,
though I'd like...
take me home."
Third to preachers & philosophers,
begging the question,
"What's the reason?"
And after hearing all,
and six turning Past,
Maurice dismissed them
bringing us to Fourth.
He already knew
the bliss of pills,
so attention went to:
Fine food, cognac, and deserts,
Kisses from pretty people,
etc. --
It takes all kinds
to feel fine.
Eventually Fifth, Maurice wished
to plan from flowers
to coffin.
His mother cried
all the time he planned,
and he told her,
"It's getting too damp;
I can't afford a cold."
She wailed at the thought,
when the Fifth came,
'He'll surely die,'
to which
Maurice rolled eyes,
knowing, "I know
that's why I'm planning."
Sixth arrived on a rainy day.
Maurice rose
before the rest
and dressed his best.
Even in sleep,
his parents looked troubled.
He wrote a note
to give them peace,
"I love you both,"
though he used to curse
for birth...
those days are done.
Sitting on the front porch,
he watched the sun
and wondered,
"Who gives a shit?
It rises every day.
I'm more the miracle.
This is the last time
I..."
and at the sense
this breath is last
Maurice wished
He'd never learned
This is all there is
for him.
So he did
the first thing he could think,
"I want to go
to kindergarten."
Some said,
"There's more to life,"
and he replied,
"But I'm five."
So the family did
what they thought best
and followed the wishes.
First to school,
where the pointlessness gained ground
the more Maurice coughed,
nothing like
a bloody palm
to inspire,
"Fuck colors,"
in a kid at five.
Second
to the world.
What cash could be gathered
spent on tickets to circle.
"The world is wide,"
Dad said
(never saying
he considered
'why haven't I
till now?'),
"You'll be glad to see it."
But the voyage proved
there's too much to miss.
Maurice confessed,
"We can't see it all,
though I'd like...
take me home."
Third to preachers & philosophers,
begging the question,
"What's the reason?"
And after hearing all,
and six turning Past,
Maurice dismissed them
bringing us to Fourth.
He already knew
the bliss of pills,
so attention went to:
Fine food, cognac, and deserts,
Kisses from pretty people,
etc. --
It takes all kinds
to feel fine.
Eventually Fifth, Maurice wished
to plan from flowers
to coffin.
His mother cried
all the time he planned,
and he told her,
"It's getting too damp;
I can't afford a cold."
She wailed at the thought,
when the Fifth came,
'He'll surely die,'
to which
Maurice rolled eyes,
knowing, "I know
that's why I'm planning."
Sixth arrived on a rainy day.
Maurice rose
before the rest
and dressed his best.
Even in sleep,
his parents looked troubled.
He wrote a note
to give them peace,
"I love you both,"
though he used to curse
for birth...
those days are done.
Sitting on the front porch,
he watched the sun
and wondered,
"Who gives a shit?
It rises every day.
I'm more the miracle.
This is the last time
I..."
and at the sense
this breath is last
Maurice wished
He'd never learned
This is all there is
for him.
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