The Cynglish Beat: Beat Down

This poem is my modern homage to Jack Kerouac’s concept of being beat down, to being suppressed, by things and people and events. I was blown away by his novel On The Road and wanted to say something in return, with it modernized and personalized. (This is in no way comparable in depth or quality to Jack’s writing’s.)

~TR

CAUTION: Contains adult language and situations. Not for young or sensitive readers.

BEAT DOWN

Generation after generation of knocked down, put down, beat down world.

Beat down by women,

by men,

by addictions,

by pleasures,

by pains.

Beat down by government,

by educators,

by administrators,

by in-laws,

by outlaws,

by outlawed in-laws ignoring restraining orders.

Beat down by laziness,

by procrastination,

by living by the clock,

by living by the cock,

by living by the pussy.

Beat down by too many rules,

by the lack of rules,

by the lack of respect for

others,

by a lack of respect for

yourself.

Beat down by disorganized

healthcare,

by a lack of healthcare,

by children,

by no children,

by all children.

Beat down by new technology,

by old technology,

by having no tech

in a high tech world.

Beat down by auto repair,

by auto insurance,

by auto envy,

by autoerotic

asphyxiation.

Beat down by bus schedules,

by court schedules,

by bail for the innocent,

by parole for the guilty.

Beat down by lost keys,

by lost wallets,

by lost innocence,

by lost love,

by lost interest.

Beat down by friends,

by family,

by strangers, ­

­­by strange friends,

by stranger family,

by estranged family,

by pre-arranged family,

by re-arranged family,

by totally deranged

family.

Beat down by Ego,

by Id,

by insecurity,

by lack of security,

by Homeland Security.

Beat down by literalists,

by conservatives,

by liberals,

by Republicans,

by Democrats,

by gays,

by straights,

by fence-sitters,

by babysitters.

Beat down by fat kids,

by skinny kids,

by kids who climb on

rocks,

by tall kids,

by short kids,

even by kids with chicken pox.

Beat down by Smurfette,

by Chandler Bing,

by Wisteria Lane,

by Oprah,

by your inability to turn

off the TV, get off the

couch and get a life!

Beat down…and kept down by the self.

~

An excerpt from the upcoming The Cynglish Beat by Tim Reynolds, from Cometcatcher Press.

All words and images here are Copyright Tim Reynolds.

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