WHERE TO START by Allan Lake

Where To Start

Allan Lake

While listening to jazz standards, my mind flips

through the tooo many stupid things I’ve done

in my life to date. Sure, some would seem far

fetched if it was anyone else but it’s mystory.

Thank you, memory, very vindictive of you.

It’s a wonder I am alive, not in an asylum

or shivering on cardboard bed near some

supermarket. I’d only have me to blame

but might try to pin at least some of it

on woeful parents, genetic yuck luck.

But despite free will and how I mis-

spent lots of it, here I am, healthy

and living in comfort. Ok, not

wise or wealthy but it’s still

clear that life is not fair.

Not    even    close.

Allan Lake, originally from Saskatoon, Canada, has lived in Vancouver, Cape Breton, Ibiza, Tasmania, Melbourne and Sicily. He has won Elwood Poetry Prize, Lost Tower Publications (UK) Competition and Melbourne Spoken Word Poetry Fest. His latest chapbook of poems, “My Photos of Sicily”, was published by Ginninderra Press. Such journals as The Hong Kong Review, Quadrant Mag, Cordite Poetry Rev, The American Writers Rev, Tokyo Poetry Journal, The Antigonish Rev, as well as New Philosopher and The Fabians Review have published his poems.