DISPOSSESSION

there is a time to give

there is a time to receive

a proverb written somewhere

by somebody long ago

for me.

now, with the weight of the years

choking me breathless

I understand at last.

I am giving away my books

(something I thought I would never do)

and giving away my music

(but nobody wants LP's any more)

and giving away my cameras

(no faces left to photograph)

and giving away my guns

(no one will harm me in my coffin)

and giving away my shirts

(suddenly too tight for me)

and giving away my god

(suddenly so small and boring)

and soon I will be left bent and naked

with nothing more to give

ready to receive the much promised

paradise, but with only one virgin

for all eternity.