Poems · Poemvember 2018 · poetry

POEMVEMBER 2018-DAY 17: “TOMFOOLERY”

Christopher Hickey
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“TOMFOOLERY”

Many years ago,

my friends would gather round, and we’d do dumb things.

Oh, but I was the dumbest, and the meanest, by far.

I used to call this one guy I found in the phone book.

He had the misfortune of having a name that stuck out, and for living in a part of town that was considered bad.

I’d call him, and make fun of him for his name, and for where he lived, and for the color of his skin.

And, somehow, i thought it made me feel better to make him feel worse.

But, it didn’t make me feel better to make him feel worse.

It just made him feel worse.

And, now, with older eyes, and less dumb days, I’m reminded from time to time of who I was.

It is uncomfortable to hold that person up to the light, and if there is ever a regret in my life, it certainly resides in the immutable past that pushes me toward the hope that the bully of a boy doesn’t reside in the heart of the man that now exists.

Reflecting on that person, I pity that heart, and how scared he was, and how misguided his thinking was.

But, that is a life.

My mistakes are my fingerprints, and my DNA.

Hoping the mutation takes,

And replications endure.

Tomfoolery, for tomfoolery’s sake comes at a cost.

One I’m not willing to pay anymore.

Not anymore.

Published by Christopher Hickey

Welcome to my effort. Yes, as a great procrastinator, it requires great effort to stay focused on something productive that matters to me. I’ll find any old excuse to traipse from project to project, and I rarely end up at the place I started. I find this maddening, and exhaustive. So it is with high hopes, and a greater grasp of self-awareness, that I embark upon staying the course so to speak. I enjoy writing. Be it blogs, fiction, poetry, etc. I love the craft and the act of creation, the art in and of itself, for it’s own sake and end. I am happy to be able to do it. Some stats: Born: March 1974 Education: St.Francis de Sales, Charlestown MA Don Bosco Technical High School, Boston MA University of Massachusetts at Lowell, Lowell MA Bunker Hill Community College, Charlestown MA DePaul University, Chicago, IL North Virginia Community College, Arlington VA Harvard Extension School, Cambridge MA Place of residence: Somewhere in the land of metro Boston. It’s vaguely familiar and becoming home more and more by the day, but when you come from “The Town” all else fails by comparison. Favorite Color: I’m partial to all forms of blue. Favorite Author: c’mon! don’t expect me to answer that, there are too many. I enjoy memories of playing 80’s Atari better than playing any advanced gaming system that exists today. Some day: Hope to be recognized for my paper clip collection. As well as my 27 rejected applications to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailiey Clown college.

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