Fatherly Advice

I don’t know
how to measure
the sum of anyone’s life,
especially my own.

Nevertheless, here is my advice:
Press your hands to your ears
to muffle the sounds of wild things
and carry the consequences

of all the bad decisions you will
make like a sack of shovels.
Let its heaviness push you
closer to the ground

until you look like an old man
stooped by the weight of years.
When the time comes for you to die,
look for a field unattended

since before you were born.
Find a spot where the ground
doesn’t give easily,
pull your most foolish decision

from the sack, and spend the day
digging for your lost treasures.


Kip Knott | Mudlark No. 26
Contents | Insomnia