I Would Rather

I would rather gargle turpentine

Than catch the morning train,

Or stand bare, as my slippers freeze

And gulp the morning rain.

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I would rather all my hair fall out,

Or shower in the sleet,

Than wake and rise and wash and dress

To tread the cold concrete.

​

I would rather stay with cannibals

To watch them gnaw my bones,

And help them fill a hearty stew,

Than hear that telephone.

​

I would rather chew my teeth until

My gums froth red with gore,

Or gouge my eyes with rusted steel

Than pace this office floor.

​

I would rather hang in spider’s webs

And turn to liquid feed,

Than sit ‘neath neon bars and feel

My mind start to secede.

​

I would rather not be here, you see,

I’ve made it crystal clear,

That while I crave the cash I make

I’m done with this career.

​

Yet here I sit, in rows of five.

A drab and cheerless scene,

I would rather not exist, I think,

Than age behind this screen.

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https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/9s7cz9/mind_matters/e8no7xe

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/9sas6x/glass/e8nogwc

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