Dog Days

I know encroachment, I have felt remorse,
I understand both peril and disgust,
And mastering a mockery of trust
I thrill to threnodies, dream of divorce,
Express computer half-lives in Old Norse.
I know the golden lasses, come to dust,
The old queens begging sweetly for a crust,
The alligators, and the dogs, of course.

You say you're restless for the truth. Not me.
I'm easy at a different altitude,
A lower summit. My life is imbued
With failure, distance, loss of dignity,
And evanescent songs. Go climb a tree,
I told you. At the risk of seeming rude.