What Rough Beast | Poem for January 25, 2018

Marissa Glover
Mirror, Mirror (from Daily Affirmations for Dictators)

Don’t let a label get to you. Forget
about Type A Personality—who cares?
Welcome Anal Retentive; celebrate
Captain Controlling—what do they know?

You’re a genius. Don’t let people push
your buttons. Little Hitler is hyperbole,
an appeal to extreme. You know
ad hominem can’t hurt you.

Let them throw their sticks
and stones. In the end, winning
is all that matters. Remember
what Étienne taught you. This
is war. Repeat after me:
On n’est jamais servi si bien
que par soi-même. Say it
again.Like you mean it.

You’ve always been a wild card.
Change the game—choose whatever
suits you. Pick a color no one expects.
The system is totally rigged.
Players are weak, out of control—
no leadership, total disrespect. Always
too much talk, not enough action.

Losers, the lot of them.

If you’re down in the fourth,
forget the playbook, and the team.
Throw the football to yourself—score
a touchdown. Dance in the end zone.
Do an interview. Huge cojones.

Hail Mary’s are for chumps.
You got this. Believe me,
you got this. Are you ready?
“Me!” on three.

 

Marissa Glover’s poems have appeared in Gyroscope Review, The Opiate, Helen, and Lipstick Party Magazine, among other publications. She teaches in central Florida. Read more at MarissaGlover.wordpress.com.

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