sycophant
On the way
I was hungry.
I was always hungry in those days.
I’m hungry now.
I’ll live.
“hey?” I said to you.
You were licking some food off your fingers, and you looked over at
me. You tilted your head up to signal me to speak.
“you got any extra money for a burrito, maybe?”
You finished what you were eating, then you threw your paper
napkin into the trash. “Let’s roll. We gott’a be there soon,” you said.
Who was I?
I’m not anybody.
I’m a nobody.
I went hungry.
I’ve been hungry before.
I’m hungry now.
I’ll live.
I always do.
There
Well, we got there.
They knew me, and they
wanted to know who you were.
You were my ride.
I told them that.
They took me to a restaurant, and bought me something to eat,
and you told them “EAT A DICK!” You said it loudly at the restaurant.
You didn’t fit in.
You were odd.
You were different.
They hated you.
You didn’t care.
You didn’t see it.
I ate.
I was starving.
I’m always starving.
I’m starving now.
To the party
You wrecked the car.
You drove the car off the road five miles
before we ever reached the party.
You took your eyes off the road, and spun the
car, flipping us off the road.
We both lived.
The car was junk, and you left it.
They came back for us.
“I’m gonn’a get a lawyer and sue that fucking kid,” your hero said
to me. “No you won’t,” I said. “He ain’t got nothing; he’s just like me.”
Your hero took me in his car.
He wanted to leave you.
The Party
Hey?
It was a party.
Forget; move on.
Smile, baby. We’ve all come this far.
Someone gave you a nickname.
You were among friends.
You had a great time.
Epilogue
You’re still using the nickname;
it’s been years since it was given to you.
No one knows your real name.
You used that nickname at the party the following year;
then the year after that…
... you wanted to kill someone that year.
Because that person was different.
Because that person was odd.
Because that person was unpopular.
Because that person was someone everyone else hated.
You’re a hero now.
Sure you are.
“I see him once a year, and that’s enough”
They say that about you.
Everything is different
Nothing has changed
Who am I?
I’m not anybody.
I’m a nobody.
I’ll live.
I always do.
