bart edelman
Jump the shark
Let’s jump the shark,
And be done with it.
No need to stand on ceremony,
Beat around the motorboat,
Tell Jesus we love him.
The big fish won’t eat us alive,
Save we pry open its jaws,
And slink, calmly, inside;
This, I must warn us all,
Would be one helluva mistake,
Unless we’re ready to call it quits.
But we’re far from that.
So, simply, get out the skis,
Remember the lessons taught,
Keep our knees stiff,
Hold the rope tight,
Glide into the blue night.
And be done with it.
No need to stand on ceremony,
Beat around the motorboat,
Tell Jesus we love him.
The big fish won’t eat us alive,
Save we pry open its jaws,
And slink, calmly, inside;
This, I must warn us all,
Would be one helluva mistake,
Unless we’re ready to call it quits.
But we’re far from that.
So, simply, get out the skis,
Remember the lessons taught,
Keep our knees stiff,
Hold the rope tight,
Glide into the blue night.
Bart Edelman’s poetry collections include Crossing the Hackensack, Under Damaris’ Dress, The Alphabet of Love, The Gentle Man, The Last Mojito, The Geographer’s Wife, Whistling to Trick the Wind, and This Body Is Never at Rest: New and Selected Poems 1993 – 2023. Most recently, he’s taught in the MFA program at Antioch University, Los Angeles. He lives in Pasadena, California.
