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Handout 2: Burnout — a Misnomer By Ric Masten (1929-2008), a Unitarian Universalist poet, folk singer and minister. In Ric Masten Speaking (Watsonville, CA: Paper Mache Press, 1990). Used with permission.
burnout
you've seen the results
in the shop on the shelf
row after row of grey empty faces
with nothing happening in the glassy eyes
except
a little surface reflection
burnout
you know the symptoms
a history of dependable service
then suddenly for no reason things go dark
and you're a dead piece of furniture
waiting
to be removed from the living room
burnout
the psychological repairman said
and shrugged and shook his head
having checked everything
except the cord
which of course
was disconnected
in a word "unplugged"
and to think
i nearly went to the dump myself
because someone less than a poet
trying to describe a condition
came up with a misleading term
clearly
a case of burnout demands a second opinion
and this is mine
find an outlet
and if the cord doesn't reach
move the set
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Last updated on Saturday, October 29, 2011 .
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