Out of the Impasse

Am i sane or am i mad
    a dog in the manger
hating the stranger in myself?
    good and evil we were twain
but god is dead
so i am half-alive
which is the very devil!
    they swear the seed i bear
is cursed even unto the trump of doom
which is why i would bid my heirs
fare-thee-weal or fare-thee-woe
    meanwhile i’m stuck among the either-ors

        see-saw margery daw
        johnny shall have a new master

    why rue the devil’s encores
adam’s legacy    not mine!
i’m wiser    pay him no heed
he’ll get meaner and meaner
aggravate his spleen and bust
    until then i won’ t mention
good/bad    honour/lust
embrace the difference between
without being one or t’other
i’ll arrange a humane paronym
brother i’d rather say amen:
    to my little i am and big i am
hello in there stranger
i’m no dog in the manger!

mcmlxx