Poem Week, Part 3: He Had Always Depended on the Kindness of Strangers

[deckardcanine]

There was a major movie fanatic
Who started out quite couth
But forgot how real people talk and act.
He couldn’t handle the truth!

It started with “You talkin’ to me?”
And “Go ahead; make my day.”
Then “Say hello to my little friend”
Scared would-be friends away.

“Well, nobody’s perfect,” he told himself.
But after a while he swore.
“I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going
To take it anymore!”

He checked himself into a program
For such a problem’s curbing.
Some said it wouldn’t work. He found
Their lack of faith disturbing.

The program was intense, and soon
He vanted to be alone.
“Tomorrow’s another day”—but then
“Snap out of it!” he’d groan.

At last they thought he’d progressed enough
To call his case a success.
He certainly felt proud of himself
And under a lot less stress.

To celebrate his triumph,
He rented Romancing the Stone,
Then looked around and said to himself,
“There’s no place like home.”