Jerry Durick’s most recent poem to appear here was “Man and His Phone” (May 2017)

Stupid
By Jerry Durick

I have dealt with Stupid a long time now
All my life he’s followed me, shadowed
Me, tailed along after me, my footsteps
Became his; I hear him so often when I
Open my mouth to speak, he’s so close
I step on his feet as often as he steps on
Mine; he poses awkwardly with me in
The mirror most mornings, he shaves
His face along with mine, so like me, he
Checks his email, makes coffee, and then
Tries to explain himself to himself once
More, dresses like me, reads all the same
Books, rarely remembers names or titles
And sits at the keyboard like this, wishing
To disturb the universe and, like this, ends
Up only disturbing himself—and me.