The Truancy of Memory

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Don't dwell on any little detail
That may have made you mad
Like when a day like this one
Comes right out of nowhere
Sneaks up on you from behind
And straight up just surprises
The shit out of you and might
Succeed in beating you down.

In such moments, it's easy to say
"That's the last thing I needed..."
And give in to the Darker Side
But, there is a way to fight it
By focusing on the Lighter Side.

Using the words of Malcolm X
By whatever means necessary
You force yourself to laugh
And coerce yourself to smile
Be fluent in forgetfulness
And banish all frowns from
Your kingdom for this day
Allow your short term memory
To play hooky and run away
At break-neck speed, just run!
Pursue all your dreams pell-mell
Then look up pell-mell in the dictionary
Look for love with a laugh-track
Fall down and take a hard tumble
Boom! You skinned your knee, so what?
At least you know you're alive
From that ache in your heart.

Now forget about all that!
Just think of the stiffest,
Stuffiest, most tight-assed
Person you know (or knew).

And now imagine them:

A. Giggling and skipping around
Like a schoolgirl on Special K.

OR

B. Dressed in the gaudiest
poofy polka dot clown suit
Face painted white with
A big, round red nose
Wearing a goofy pointed hat
Holding a bouquet of fake flowers
In one hand while the other hand
Repeatedly squeezes the rubber
Ball end of a shiny brass horn:

"Honka! Honka! Honka! Honka! Honka! Honka! Honka!"

Now ask yourself what it was that made you so
upset in the first place.

Then forget you asked that stupid question.
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Daniel James Hennell, 2007