POEM - Wit

Always wanted to be the funny one
The clever one
With a quick wit
And a snappy retort
To come off smarter
Sharper and swifter

At ten I was a legend
To myself only
Riding home from an activity
Next to my dad
He said the teenager
The one we had been talking to
Was really funny
I let him know I was funny
Right?
And that's when I learned tough love
No, was the reply
Not like that kid
He had a quick wit
Great delivery
Superb timing
I was still a kid
I did funny things
Could remember jokes
This kid was creating his own material
Working the audience
Playing off the mood in the room
I was funny for what I was
But this kid was hilarious

Oh, I see
Got it
Thanks for the input
The unbiased critique
I see where my logic was flawed
Making notes over here
Maybe we can circle back round
Take a meeting on this corrective action
Revisit my evaluation
Let's say in a month or two?

And just like when that guy told me
They don't need lawyers in heaven
I side-stepped another career path
Saved years of heartache
And switch comedian
To the hobby tract
In my mental filing cabinet
Took the elephant joke book
Off the top of my textbook pile
And moved it to the recreational reading

But it still burns inside
The desire to be the funny man
Be quick with a joke
Add levity to heavy situations
And laugh at myself and the world
Cross the road with the chicken
Knock on the door for the banana
Stock the Campbell's
Cream of Elephant Soup
For ready consumption
Whenever the mood is right