Near fatal car crashes, <br />natural disasters that leave you clinging <br />to some ravaged palm tree <br />staring at all the <br />floating <br />bodies below, escaping a burning building while your geriatric <br />neighbors <br />inhale smoke, cough and- <br />remembering first kisses,1950’s showgirls, the faces of grandchildren- tumble <br />onto the carpet (inflexible <br />Atropos) , waking up <br />from a 3-year coma- the wife <br />has run off with a vacuum cleaner <br />repair man, your children <br />staring at you like you’ve stepped out of ghost story- you see the light, reach for <br />one <br />Good Book <br />or another, pray silently, and there you are; reborn. <br /> <br />Me? <br />I check the calendar, call the bank, (and maybe I’m just shallow, <br />but when you’re broke <br />and collect vices like baseball cards…) I see that my paycheck has cleared, <br />the balance is no longer a negative number, <br />and I thank every god I can think of <br />like some confused <br />zealot.<br /><br />John Dempsey<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/maybe-i-m-just-shallow/
