Hey, if you haved lived a little you have baggage. Are you going to make amends? Poet Tony Artuso pipes in.

Tony Artuso

Now, let’s take a look at your balance sheet.
Not bad, really, considering.
Your stay here in purgatory
should be short — just need to zero out
a few liabilities.

For starters, make good seventy New Years’ resolves,
including the one you made, at ten,
about doing morning push-ups daily for life.

Then, you can do some yard work.
Here we have here every leaf, snowflake, grass blade
you should have raked, shoveled, cut.

Next, sit down and write —
long hand — all the thank notes you owe,
including the ones to your aunt
in Chicago who sent you a different
polyester tie every birthday.

When you’re done with those, reply
to all Christmas cards never answered.
And while you’re at it, send out all
the change of address forms, too,
including one to the Connecticut
Department of Revenue so they can bill you
for back taxes owed from eighty-six and seven.

And when you’re done with that, revise
all the poems you’ve ever written —
including this one.

– Tony Artuso

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