Envy the Dutiful
with a nod to Dana Gioia
Envy the dutiful,
the dogs, the wallflowers,
the prom non-attendees
home at all hours.
Envy the waterboys,
the dweebs and the techies,
the Poindexters born
predestined for wedgies.
The nerds and nerdettes,
the gawky, the scrubs
liked as “just friends,”
the terminal schlubs.
Envy the bookworms,
unhip, ungainly,
the late-blooming Venus
now sought insanely.
Envy the duds
who’ve bided their time.
Envy the day
their stock starts to climb.
J.D. Smith‘s poems have appeared in several previous issues of Light, and his first humor collection, Notes of a Tourist on Planet Earth, which includes both poetry and prose, was published in March 2013. His third poetry collection, Labor Day at Venice Beach, was published in 2012. He buys insurance only from fellow mammals.