The Wise Guys - Sept. 24, 2026

on not so rare occasions, when I approach

newly fledged doves, tiny lizards, once

a coyote pup and a juvenile rat,

they don’t rush away but stare at me,

still fearlessly comfortable and curious

of the world around them

one day they’ll have a first lesson,

with any luck not their last, of a lifetime

of lessons about fear and survival

I bet it’s true that in every species

there are the excellent learners,

sponges that absorb all the clues,

and the thick-headed and dumb,

who can’t grasp the basic stuff,

and struggle to live in the world

and of course, the wise guys

who take nothing serious

never apply themselves

and end up with either

an aimless, wasted future

or a very very short one