20160525 (happy BD, Blog)

Looking back on a year of daily writing. Didn't please everybody. Never meant to.

With this statement I will 

Have written an essay every 

Day for a year. Varying in 

Length from 300 to 500 words

(Or so) these essays fulfill my 

Promise to myself and I

Unashamedly take pride in

The accomplishment. Not

Every foray is a gem but

Hunters don’t bag a buck

Every time they go out

Either. And the proverbial

Studs certainly don’t 

Always score but they’re 

Not going to talk much 

About that. Whether you, 

Dear Reader, have enjoyed 

Any is of some concern,

But not my primary one.

These are all for me, though

I have fruitlessly urged them

On family, friends, colleagues at

Church, protests, demonstrations,

People I’ve bumped into on

The street, various subjects of

My musings, wait staff at diners,

Other wedding and funeral 

Guests, and some with 

Whom I’ve had to share a

Gutter while choking on my

Own vomit. That’s for my son

Who calls to see if I am lying 

In a gutter somewhere choking

On my own vomit—to which I

Query, “Does it have to be my

Own?” I thought to increase my

Readership by passing out cards

Announcing where to find me

On the internet to all those

Mentioned above. The cards

May have been inserted into 

Shoes whose soles are worn

Through, or folded over and

Placed under the short leg of

A wobbly table, or, as I once

Speculated, used to light 

Damp cigars in a cold rain.

If so, I’m happy they brought

Some utility, possibly joy,

To those who improvised

Second lives for them. I never 

Saw anyone use them to pry

Spinach from between their 

Teeth but it’s a distinct

Possibility. No literary agents

Have called to say, “You could

Be the next S. J. Perelman, 

Young man, or you could 

Be the Zodiac killer.” Or, as

A colleague from my days

In stand up confided, “You’ve

Got talent for sure, but you 

Need to work on timing. Just

Before the audience bursts

Into uncontrollable laughter

You should say something

FUNNY.” I really don't care

If my sole gold star is the one

I awarded myself, I’ll maintain 

To my last day, “I earned it.”

c. J.S.Manista, 2016