David J. Rothman Something Goes Wrong
Something is always going wrong —
A twist, a turn, a day, a song.
No matter how wise you are, or strong,
The doorknob breaks, you don’t belong,
You and your love don’t get along.
You are Fay Wray, life is King Kong.
Something is always going wrong.Something is always breaking down —
A car, a joint, a day, a town —
And falling heavily to the ground.
It’s prom night and you’ve torn your gown,
Your hand winds up at the lost and found,
Your lover demands merely one pound
Of flesh, but it’s your heart. The sound
Of laughter turns to choking. Things drown
In life at last, and don’t come round.
Something is always breaking down.Something is always falling apart —
If it’s not the horse, then...but why even start
To try to describe how wheels blow out
On superhighways, a valve in the heart
Clogs up and stops, gentle doubt,
The model of all thinking, cracks, entire
Neighborhoods, cities, and then nations plunge faster
And faster into anger, hatred, and disaster?
The straits we swim are always dire.
Something is always falling apart.
Someone is always screwing up.
Someone is always dropping dead.
The cops are always showing up
After the bullet’s in someone’s head,
Or stomach, or throat, or violent bed.
Who can predict the next bloodshed,
The plot some genius has dreamed up
To rob the little corner store
Or turn his sister into a whore?You think that’s bad? There’s always more
Where that came from, more than we can
Imagine, for the subject’s Man,
And someone is always screwing up.So, doctor, drink with me, come drink with me.
I’ll buy this round. We will do it moderately,
Then, homeward bound, let us walk across the city,
Whose curbs are ruled by cash and pity,
And, knowing things are for the worst,
And something always can go wrong,
And there’s no cure once a bubble’s burst,
Attend, attend, to the night’s sweet song.