CUSS
Clapping hurts my hands
and ears. Hurts my heart
to pile plaudits on
the overhonored.
Gives repetitive
stress. Ouch. The crunch of
muscles. The steady
press on tendons. The
clank and rattle of
tin hallelujahs
and more undeserved
medals. These cussed
buzzing huzzahs of
rote percussive praise.
These thundering hand
farts of squeezed-out air
and deafening drum
rolls of idle prayer.
