Stuff, Things, Crap...Etc... Poem by Thomas Case

I'm in treatment again.
Booze is wrecking my body.
This morning(pre-dawn)I took
my meds, drank coffee, and
did the breakfast setup.
My friend, (a brilliant saxophone player)
came through the line and said,
'What's up man? '
I said, 'Oh you know...stuff.
How about you? '
He replied, 'Oh yeah, Stuff...always lots of stuff,
...and things.Always lots of things on my plate.'

Our laughter broke through the
sound of Hell's Bells in the background.
There was a connection, a brotherhood of
the stuff and things society.
The little 8th notes and 16th notes,
and the verbs and nouns floated
in the kitchen air, mixing with the smell
of bleach and toast.
Creation was in the birthing process.
He asked, 'What's on the agenda for today? '
'oh crap, lots of crap...you? '
'Shit...lots of shit, you know.'
I chuckled, 'yes, I do know.'
I stopped everything I was doing,
and frantically began
scribbling this poem.
He went to his room,
and grabbed his sax,
and began riffing on some
Miles Davis and John Coltrane.
Far from the sterile
smell of stuff,
things, crap, etc...