My Father Kicking Me Out of His House

Go! Go! Get out of this house! The shelter,

The roof that has kept the rain from your head,

 it was paid for by labor that was no easy task, 

it paid for the books that you hold so dear, 

the books that should lead you out of here! 

You can’t live off of ideas alone,

It takes toil, labor, dedication, the sweat of

The brow, the ache of the bone. You have amassed

A great deal of knowledge, but knowledge feeds

Only more knowledge, not the belly, nor can it

Build a home. You have toiled with words, but 

Always the same ones. How can you expect

The palace you’re building out of coarse and 

Rotting wood to attract any visitors, when only

A short trip away one can find palaces of gold? 

You are not Kafka, and even if you were, 

Kafka died obscure, and poor. Go! 

Earn your way toward a solitary peace

If you must, or if you want, find love—either way,

You won’t find it here. Begone! Your happiness

Lies elsewhere. Grow fat on your own food,

Let your own house fall to shambles. Rise

At dusk and sleep at dawn if you must. Just

don’t do it here. Earn a living, that is key!

The government needs money for more than

Just your monthly funds. You call yourself a poet,

But what does that even mean? It means

You are broke, and you know it! Get out!

Go! Leave this house right now! There are 

Places that will take you, there are jobs

To be done—you may not enjoy them

But they must be done, and they will teach

You how to be patient, how to survive.

Your mother is tired of you and your messes,

The smell of tobacco on your clothes.

I am tired of watching you lay on the couch

Reading in languid repose. You are thirty-six

Years old! Get out! Get out of this house!

Make something of yourself! Do you want

To be a child for the rest of your life,

Because that is where you’re headed.

Self-entitled, careless, lazy, child!

You say you want a woman, but do you expect

She’ll support you? That’s not how it works,

No. That is ridiculous. It just isn’t right!

Get a job, man! Do your share! It’s almost as if

You didn’t care. Get out! Go! Pack your things!

You’ve proven nothing with these ridiculous writings.

I cleaned toilets, I scrubbed floors, I worked in markets,

I did chores! What have you done? Nothing, or rather,

Not enough! It’s time to be a man! It’s time to get tough!

Stand tall, be strong, don’t complain! Get out of this house!

And remember, I won’t always be here to help you

Should you end up homeless, or worse, insane.