CRIME
Reminiscences of a boy criminal
I was a boy criminal
sanitized and WASP
therefore exempt from law
able to eat shrimp cocktails without
missing a beat
+
The only block a nagging conscience
that came from nowhere but
what we once called
above
+
I was a boy criminal
I filched stuff from Herbie’s on Columbus Avenue
I did the same in other places
+
A cool young actress did the same years later
got the book thrown
I was the very soul of luck
+
Why would I
who now am presumed to be
a master of benignity
and goodness
not simply self-pardon
just see my childhood crimes
as little indiscretions
hardly worth a mention
+
Well you see
some people reading this
know well as I
exactly what the score was
+
I never ended up
where kids in gangs end up
or little boys who find
a George Zimmerman
on their tail
+
Come come
I am not stupid
Knew the drill then
Know it now
+
I was as universal then as now
Reality was all
and it still is
I’m still a thief
A criminal
Free walking
just like the President
There’s nothing fancy in this
There’s no celebrity
And no
no shame
It is
It was
Like every day that passes
it could have been the end
