Message From Beside A Sphinx, A Home Pome Poem by Glen Kappy

from 'Dreams and Visions'

He lay his body down beside his geezer cat
his wizened yellow-orange sphinx
who hadn't felled a bird in ages
who embodied it appeared to him
the secret of contentment.
He envied his uncomplicated life—
a bit of food, some water
and a comfortable spot to sit his fur and bones.

The man was weary of the struggle—
his wife pursuing her degree and his two sons
and for income only him and feeling trapped
the house and yard that called for maintenance and more
the burden of his younger son—
the angers and the conflict
the calls from school and even the police.

He wanted out, to simply disappear, to dematerialize
without a fuss or leaving any trace of tragedy.
His wife could then collect his life insurance
which would keep her for a while
and she and his two sons could get on with their lives.

He wondered next to sphinx
again beside him after purring advances then rejections
wondered why he'd been abandoned to this trudging life
eight years trudging with no end in sight
wondered what was meant by losing life to gain it

when something—like a stick that's struck to stagnant water—
sent ripples—and when the surface settled
there was this reflection—
One does not live to oneself.
One does not live to oneself.

The younger son came in to ask him for a ride.
He grabbed his shirt, keys, wallet, and put his sandals on.