All Day Long – by David Lerner

you learn to walk like a lion
down streets built for
beetles and frogs

you learn to 
carry a fist of desire
in your belly

and the insect roars of miniature tyrants
who'd like to 
wear you for a ring

you learn to spill your pride
in the street
like it was nothing

to beg for pennies
with the style of a pirate
the pathos of an accident victim
the guts of a feral dog

learn to 
hold your love close to you
like the pride of a slave

learn that
charm is only a detail

that we are just accidents of longing

that the morning is nowhere near as
powerful as the night




by David Lerner