Bag O' Treats

Some people take drugs to feel the sensation
Of butterfly’s tickling their ribs
Or to taste the flavor of purple.

Maybe to see the songs of Jimi Hendrix
Take shape on a bare ceiling,
Or perhaps notice the beautiful patterns
In nature
Or feel the universe unfolding out of itself.

Some guys take drugs to get laid.
Girls like to party.
Fall in love with a stranger at an urban outpost.
Carry a dirty secret?

Stoners take long draws and
Suck warm smog off a bong on a summer afternoon
And watch the drama of the African Savanna
Unfold on the Discovery Channel.

Perhaps they need to escape their anxiety?
To tumble for a moment on the bliss
Of indifference.
They reach out to friends and doctors for medication.

Eight year olds on amphetamines studying grammar
Or old ladies drinking coffee writing reports.
Cokeheads, tweakers, and speedfreaks
Like to stay up for days eating crackers
And fill in their flaws with stimulants
Seeking competence and self esteem.

We are urban ninja’s living secret lives.
We are bullshit lawyers on blow,
Drunk politicians,
And strung out CEO’s robbing banks.
Physicians in basements smoking pot.
Space cadet hippies,
All on the edge of the abyss,
We are certifiable freaks!

They push us and we push back.
We buy fake penises full of stale urine
Or crawl underground
Into subterranean refuges
Finding ourselves in back alleys
Littered with trash and excrement.
Animals on the run,
Invisible felons.