Michael Wilbanks


The Ramblings Of Charm Versus God

Before I start to mention
The flavor of the air,
Or the colors of my bathrobe
Or the numbers of my hair,
I should let it be known
That there's never very much
Left in the batter
After it's had my touch.
In fact, the child is gone now
Running out the door
Knowing nothing's here
Worth even staying for
But even sitting here
In the raspberry air
I feel my freedom stir
My ten thousand strand of hair
But I'm just not free enough
To leave my scarlet robe
And venture to my closet
For a terri-cotton globe
Not free enough to dream
Or free enough to gain
A handful of tomorrows
Or a goblet full of pain.
I have achieved a lot though
In my time here, undressed
With thousands of reasons
To say that I am blessed;
Blessed with my patience
And blessed with my mind
Blessed with my family
And blessed to see the blind
But I'm never sure if blessings
Are meant to weigh a man
To the point of worthiness
By what he's greater than…
Well, furthermore, and anyway…
I'd guess, 'Surely not! '
For the love of the god I know,
I pray for what I've got,
And am sometimes afraid
To pray for something more
As fear is by nature
Always something more;
A thunderstorm's temper,
A shadow's shifting grace,
A nightmare's opalescence,
Or a demon's human face.
With so many options
Wrapped in a robe on my chair
I'd be amazed at the choices
In a handful of taxi-fare,
But I'd probably want to change
Into something a bit more formal
For I'll need to be more charming
If I'm ever to be normal.
Charm's a scary thing too
If you really think it though;
To make a human being do
Exactly what you want them to
By something like a smile
Or a wink and a nod
Or something else as common
As a herdsman's cattle prod.
So I'll expect more of myself
If I make it though my door
To a charming, fearful world
A world where nothing's more.
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