(The Passion of the Moskowitz)
They're a different breed
those who can sleep
through the alarm clock
and stumble through the door
drunk and forgetting to bring dinner
they drive their cars
and don't pay the registration
and they stuff parking tickets
in their glove boxes
they don't stress over jobs
if they have them
and they let their dogs
run free
forgetting about bills due
and demanding what they want
merrily bouncing through life
like a pinball
their lives
unpredictable and random
and I envy their ethos
and covet their gifted selfishness
they have children they don't see
and they aren't bothered by it
they'll never know all the ways
they are shirking their responsibilities
because they never cared to
read the rules
I don't begrudge them
their freedom
and I try not to resent them
just because
I learned the rules
and their selfishness
often leaves me
cleaning up after them
because the rules always boil down to
"love and take care of each other"
this is my sacred responsibility
so I try my best
and even though I am Jewish
I remind myself that
I'm not Jesus
as I carry
this cross of responsibility
through a world of people
just waiting for me
with their nails and hammers.