hi, i'm vernon howl

Every second fight

the urge to do nothing,

You know the thing,

to watch nothing TV—

yea River Monsters is cool

but

cool for a hospital bed*

so be thankful:

You are lucky

You aren’t there—

fight fight fight fight FIGHT!

Once you have fought

and find Yourself not doing the thing,

then the rest will come naturally.

The door will swing open

as if just pushed by a gentle breeze.

*a followup poem titled, “Does the hospital cable have Animal Planet?”

(editor’s note: hi, “The key to happiness” is a poem from the poetry/art book & personal journal LEVEL, forthcoming fall 2012)