Getting On

By Robert L. Penick

When I was a kid there was no talk
of becoming a doctor, a lawyer,
or even a lowly priest at some
broken, backstreet cathedral.
One had to get on someplace,
some factory of stink and repetition,
where any original thought was a sin.
 
They were churches in their own way,
purveyors of filth and tedium,
where the faithful gathered each morning
at 7:00 a.m., worshipped at the wheel
of toil until noon, then took communion
from paper bags in the cafeteria.
Follow the dogma or begone.
 
There was a ceiling that I could not see
and it shut out the available light,
the stars that I should navigate by,
the roadmap that would have led me
anywhere in the universe.
I had only the sun, telling me
It’s morning.  Rise.  Dig the hole.

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The poetry and prose of Robert L. Penick have appeared in well over 200 different literary journals, including The Hudson Review, North American Review, Plainsongs, and Oxford Magazine. The Art of Mercy: New and Selected Poems is now available from Hohm Press, and more of his work can be found at theartofmercy.net