I am bored
weary from the dull sameness of life
the tedium of always awakening at the same time
seeing the same people
eating the identical food at dinner
listening to monotous music.

I knew I was in a stupor
when Chinaski’s poems appeared interchangeable
so I decided to drive the wrong way
on every one-way street in the city.

as I drive I feel a strange excitement
by driving in the opposite direction
from people going the right way
then I think, there is no wrong way
I decide right from wrong today.

some drivers scream, “You’re going
the wrong way buddy!”
I smile and say,”I know.”
others just point in what
they think is the right direction
then I point with authority
in the direction I am driving.

when an ecologically aware driver in a Humvee
comes by for a second I contemplate taking him out
but quickly come to my senses.
the most fun comes when a driver yells,
“hey you fuckin asshole.
Don’t you know what you’re doing.”
I laugh knowing if only for today
I know exactly what I am doing .

I feel alive again and tell a friend of my adventure
Rich says, “ You do not have to drive the wrong way
on a one way street to be different. You are
some kind of strange.”

I go home and get a beer from the refrigerator
and think, Rich is right, “I do not have to open the
bottle with my teeth to be different from the robots.
I am one lucky guy.”