when the first smart boy was born
im quite sure they never thought it would turn out
to be me
how mistaken it turns out they were
for emerging from my mothers womb
i proceeded at once to begin to startle the world
it was the last thing i was known to do correctly
as they say
but this has in general been true of smart boys
throughout the aeons
we are neither particularly liked understood nor rewarded
for our peculiar and unsought distinction
but then we seek no reward and recognize
the impossibility of success and fame whether
they be eventual accidental or merely historical
we do like to drink lots of good coffee and
smoke sinister types of cigarettes
but we are not interested in hurting anybody
so you see we are not as smart as we could be
it is difficult to be a smart boy
it is difficult to be a jew
it does not help if you never have any money
so we seek your unmerited kindness
to see us through the savage incomprehensibilities
for the years we have been granted
on this most peculiar and unpeaceful planet
therfore we are thankful for the smallest and most modest
of miracles that occasionally befall us
the typewriter that works after many years in homeless shelters
a lousy job that lets us pay our rent and a
landlord who out of pity kindness or incomprehension
is generally willing to accept the money not of course
without the little mano a mano struggle
that goes with landlord/tenant love affairs
so you see
it is not that we have nothing to be thankful for
sometimes we unrightfully envy the success of the stupid
until we realize it is so far beyond our reach
that the sentiment is the ultimate possible waste of time
and so we stumble on through the peculiarities of our history
and try not to make too much trouble for anyone
with decades of pain and practice we begin at last
to achieve a few little successes this way
we begin to eat and defecate properly
wear clothes with minimal tears and stains when
we go among the planetary lunatics who
inhabit all civilised communities
we are careful only to take with us only so much
money as we can afford to spend lose or be robbed of
we are no longer surprised that no one cares to talk to us
we try hard to memorize a few essential rules
we have been forced by life circumstances to learn
and hope our smartness will not interfere with
our coming home safe sound and still a little sane
(VAYETZE AND JACOB WENT OUT)