THE ELEVATOR TO HEAVEN
was out of order
so I took the stairs
gripped the banister
wet with plague
began to climb
that corkscrew path
sure bet vertigo
but who cares?
it was the trip of a lifetime!
a ten-minute ascent opened up
a clear view of the asylum
“what’s that word mean?”
I once asked Pop
(pronouncing it wrong: ah-SEE-lum)
“it’s a place for crazy people”
so I climb and climb
miles into the sky
shedding crumbs of reason
what if heaven’s just an asylum?
you’d need to be crazy
to want to live forever
the final step left me
suspended in air
clouds below and above
quick drop or slow ascent
which choice
would a sane man make?
(NOTE: This was the last poem I showed to Johnny Bender, aka Brutus Chieftain, a couple of months before his untimely demise. He had me remove a line and suggested a word change or two. So I’m dedicating it his memory)
— Brother Jude
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