Let’s Make a Deal

The door of compassion
is ours if we wish to keep it –
or do we want door #2 instead?
Monty Hall wants to know.

We come costumed to deal,
would-be saints wield holy books,
old dudes in suits carry I-am-not-a-crook signs,
others sport red hats that shout
make things great again.

The clock ticks, demands decisions.
We know what lies behind door #1:
thinking about everyone else
and their damned feelings.

How boring!
Aren’t I here to win a prize for me?
Me.
Me.
Me.

Let that door, dusty
and covered in cobwebs,
remain closed.
Give me door #2!

And I’ve won…
A lifetime supply of orange wigs!
Hot damn! The Big Prize!

 

Note: The first line of this poem (italicized above) is the final line of the poem “Call Me by My True Names” by Thich Nhat Hanh.

©2023 Kenneth W. Arthur