Nobody has the
winning ticket

nobody has the winning ticket

they come tumbling through my living room
all the candidates and their clothes
try me on for size, one of them says
and no matter what I do, even relaxing becomes strenuous.

The Earth called my new phone number early last night.
Claimed it was tired of working the graveyard shift.

I, myself, haven't had any fascimile of a yard in ages.

they come crying and screaming and demanding i help them
figure stuff out. I show them my huge box of stuff that
never gets sorted.

We all line up in front of the morning light.
We all raise our hands and say simultaneously
We are going to Sort Things Out Now.

We head out in various directions to redeem ourselves
but without the winning ticket, no one at the redemption
center can tell us from anyone else.

don't you have the winning ticket? didn't it fall
from a tree and stick in your hair?

Sisyphus just got an agent.
He refuses to roll anything up hill again
unless the pay is worth it.
---Scott Wannberg