Michael D. Goscinski

one of those shits

it’d been a while
since i had to shit like that
it was one of those cheek squeezers
where you try to hold it together
running for the bathroom
hoping you don’t let lose
fortunately i made it
even had time to grab
my copy of
the complete works of william shakespeare
though i will confess
i wasn’t really in the mood for theatre
it didn’t take much of a push
but christ
the shit just wouldn’t stop
i thought for sure
i’d find my guts floating
when i got up from the pot
and to make matters worse
it was one of those shits
you just can’t wipe off
even if you stand up; get into it
the more you wipe
the more shit on the paper
it was one of those shits
that stayed with me
all day
everywhere i went
i could feel it
rustling around back there
such is life
no matter how much
you try to wipe away the shit
or hide it
with love
religion
politics
it remains
a deep dark secret
clinging
to your most private parts