lifeguard
soldier
editor
journalist
pee are man
real estate broker
teacher
taxi driver
gypsy trucker
telemarketer
and probably
a few other things
i have chosen
to forget
i was born a bankers son
when he died he was buried
in his only wornout suit
and i bounced a check
to pay for his funeral
i was also a rich womans son
she became a seamstress
and soloflying businesswoman
who went bankrupt after
taking my fathers advice
not to incorporate
she died on welfare
they had the usual human failings and mishaps
and of course i could have ended up in drancy too
but my face is not in the frontispiece picture
you no doubt hurried past
because you didnt understand what it was all about
or if you did it made you feel uncomfortable
to be alive
i only have visited one so called
holocaust museum the wiesenthal
center in los angeles
the main exhibit a mini panorama of auschwitz
is surrounded endlessly by young praying frummies
theres nothing wrong with that
but i came out laughing and happy
all the other jews thought i was nuts
but i remember my fathers words
when we escaped
he said HITLER GOT ROTHSCHILD BUT NOT ME
and laughed heartily
my mother and father were wonderful their memory is a blessing
they prepared me quite successfully for my major occupation
for all these years staying alive
DANKE DANKE LIEBER MUTTI AND FATTI
IHR SOHN ARTUR
(whom they name after philosopher arthur schopenhauer and
playwright arthur schnitzler so you see i come by my shit honestly)