Author: Jared Abraham

of bullies, cronies, slaves, and friends

poetry

You are tough and strong
and possibly unbeatable,
and I might just hate you
despite my best efforts
and my best misgivings.

I’ve heard it said
that hate is just
the inverse of love
and while I’m drawn to
tear down misconceptions,
I tend to agree because I’ve
seen Smallville and Unbreakable.

And now, through thinking
analogously, I come
to the point and to the question:
Do I love you? (or) Do I hate you?
For there can be no in-between.
And while some may label my logic
a fallacious, false dilemma, I,
respectfully, disagree.

Returning to the analogues, you
are Ender, ripe with potential,
potentially holding the future
in your young but growing hands;
the strong respond in loving
confidence; the weak in fearful
violence, attempting to crush
before being crushed themselves,
yet Ender only crushed in self-defense.

So without the crushing weakness the
prospect of crushing destruction disappears;
if only I can be strong enough
to allow you to be strong, strong
enough to choose love, rejecting
the weakness of hate, responding
to you as a friend and not a foe.

I’m a better person than you because I’m voting for Obama

poetry

In the act,
in the midst
of congratulating myself
on being a humanitarian
on being a swell guy,
I realized I didn’t do
what I was so proud of;
I didn’t stop;
I didn’t help;
I didn’t lend a hand;
I left a man,
walking on the road
in the 107 degree heat
and made excuses to myself
saying: Iwasn’tgoingveryfar;
Iwasabouttostop;hemighthave
stunk;hemighthaverobbedme;it
mightn’thavebeensafe;whatifI
waslate;someoneelsewillhelp.

Accusing myself with my excuses,
I realized that just because
I am voting for Obama doesn’t
mean that I don’t still suck,
just like everybody else.

Looking forward to inevitable awkward silences

poetry

They will arrive at six
and then it will begin:
she’ll feel strange,
in a strange place
with strange people,
including a future mother-
in-law, sister-in-law, and
of course me, a future, possible
brother-in-law, who will
enjoy sitting back and
soaking in the awkward
silences, and perhaps
even contribruting to them by not
contributing to the conversation,
which will fit in perfectly
with the lattitude permitted
to me by my laziness.

A Tribute to the New X-Files Movie, in Five Stanzas

poetry

I find myself surrounded
by Mulder’s mantra,
both on my computer’s
background and on my mind.

I want to believe
that everyone can think
that everyone is smart
that everyone is equal.

I want to believe
that I can help
that I can teach
that I can make a difference.

I want to believe
that people are good
that the world is good
that God is good.

And out of my want
I will make reality
I will choose my reality
I will believe my reality.

keyboard!!! the new and improved pen of the future

poetry

They say that the pen is mightier than the sword
and while that may be true
it is unfortunate that no one uses pens anymore
at least not for any important business,
except for signing documents, created on a keyboard.

So I’ll interchange the words,
pithily creating a new truth, saying
the keyboard is mightier than the sword,
albeit much less sexy and less like a sword,
for have you ever tried to stab someone with a keyboard?

Why I should (but inevitably won’t) teach the poetry of the sieve and the sand

poetry

Beginning tomorrow,
for a limited time only
I will for the first time ever
teach two groups of students about
poetry.
And while I write a poem
nearly every day I do not feel
that i know the first thing about
poetry.
Except that it sounds good
when rc creates beautiful phrasing
when roger plays with words’ meanings
when ned tells poetic stories
when freaky challenges expectations
when tucker speaks from his heart
when josh creates vivid images
when tim stops slacking.
Thus I look to the sand and the sieve
for most of what I know and like about
poetry.