A Response to a Letter from 4514 Chouteau Avenue
How many times can one read the same 4 sentences?
14 and counting, I guess
Your lines on Chomsky’s fire for linguistics
Him, just diggin’ it
Finding pleasure in the wonders of being a scientist
Sparked a memory
An interview read in college
Chomsky, hunched over his computer, lamenting
I haven’t done enough
I haven’t done enough
Chomsky, the avatar for so many
Needing a reminder, himself
Needing to read those lines in This is the Truth
Bluesy weary wondering
“What the fuck was I thinking?”
Accusing yourself of selling out
How reassuring,
even the avatars amongst us are not spared!
Chomsky is not saved by science
Perry is not saved by writing
LeBron is not saved by the jumper
The fucking dichotomies
The fine balance(s)
Between taxes on MIT salaries
and the costs of drone warfare
Of course, we are messengers, not messiahs
I believer it!
I swear.
Yet, like Noam at his computer, I hear always hear
that damn whisper in my ear
I haven’t done enough
I haven’t done enough
But really, aren’t Chomsky, Perry, LeBron
and all the rest
the lucky few?
The few that have found something
The solace that accompanies the doing
The joy of work that knocks your socks off
I feel most alive while riding a two-team parlay on Sunday afternoon!
The pleasures of the damned, I suppose
Anyhoo, thanks for reading the ramblings
Rob
PS: Do you know the joy your letters/writings/poetry bring me?
PPS: Why do I think I am not the only one?
PPPS: Thanks for modeling how to Keep It Simple.
