My Neighbour
An Anti-Vaxxer
Told me Justin Trudeau
Is the most hated person who
Has ever lived
He saw the study
These are facts
Facts!
We’re like sheep to the slaughter
But he’ll take
A bullet to the back of the head
Before they force him
To take
An illegal vaccine
No way man
He remembers
This is the land of the free
And they won’t fool him
No sirree
My Neighbour
Grew up starving
Drinking vinegar
From bottles
Left out at diners
Just to change
The way his stomach
Ached
Hunger like that
He tells me
Is something different
Something all-encompassing
To be famished
Is to be ravished
By absence and lack
The only time he was arrested
He was fifteen
Stole a bag-full of chocolate bars
From the cornerstore
Spent a few weeks
In EMDC
Thought he was gonna get murdered
But met some pretty nice Gs
Who shared their canteen
His case thrown out
He promised
To never do it again
And he didn’t
My neighbor
Only has what he has
Because his mother died
And because a lady driver pulled out
Without looking
Fucking bitch
He woke up in the hospital
Both legs shattered
A helluva lot richer
So he bought all his friends
Flatscreen TVs
When flatscreen TVs
Only belonged
To rich people
And he got himself a bike
A nice little crotch rocket
And a car
And an old lady
And smokes from the rez on the regular
And food for the raccoons the skunks and the possums
Who come to his window at night
Because nobody and nothing
Should ever go hungry
The raccoons steal his hat and
Last night
The Skunks allowed him to touch their
Noses
For the first time
My neighbor is going to
Run out of money next year
He will sell
First his car
Then his bike
And then he will look
For another place to live
But he doesn’t regret anything
He’s felt like a millionaire
Lived a dozen good years
With more than he ever ever imagined
Ever ever having
My neighbour
Misses his mom
Especially during the holidays
And he tells me
To enjoy every moment
Of every day
With my children
Before they grow
And go
And I
remain
And when my neighbour dies
And stands before the throne of God
And God says
What the fuck were you thinking
That was some bullshit about freedom
And vaccine conspiracies
And what’s your beef with women anyway
And my neighbour has nothing to say
In his own defense
The racoons the skunks the possums
Will say
Excuse us Lord
We’ll vouch for him
And everyone who got a flatscreen
Better nod along
And fuck it
I will too
I might as well be neighbourly
Besides
I think I’m going down not up
So it’s about time
Someone else listened
To that bullshit