n.g.f.l.

.....i don't care about that.
what?
about what?
oh.
right.
sorry, neighbors,
i'm repping that in medias res jauns over here.
right in the middle.
you know.
that's where i want to be.
dead center.
spot on.
right inside.
and it's sorta happening.
ever so slowly.
twisting, coiling, entwining, vining, reaching around-
i'm all wrapped up in some real life sh!t.
i mean,
there are hard styles,
and then there are hard styles.
y'all can keep your ratchets,
i'm choosing the wrench.
woooooooord.
oh, i'm definitely taking the path of greatest resistance.
i prefer impossible odds for getting even,
and i only want the things i have to earn.
there are far easier, accessible, safer ways to get it,
but they just don't count nearly as much.
i want exactly what i deserve.
really.
kids,
when it comes to something for nothing?
not for nothin', but i don't care about that.
see?
we got you all caught up.
now,
it's time to move forward;
stepping out into fall's flora and it's steady decline into grey.
the woodsly goodness has the things in it i like.
that's a thing.
it's where i do what i do.
what am i doing?
y'mean besides doing the best i can?
what else would i be doing?
don't be dumb.
***********
ugh.
duders,
since when am i considered nice?
i mean, sure,
maybe in private i get a little bit nicey-nice.
but in general, essentially, on the whole?
no.
i'm just not buying into it.
what?
oh,
i'm not saying i'm intentionally mean-spirited,
malicious, or awful.
i'm not actually an A*-hole after all.
c'mon.
i may be a miscreant of grievous mischief,
a wanton wordspitting glib and guileful fun-maker-
but it's just that.
y'know?
all in good fun.....for me at least.
i give as good as i get,
and i pay what's owed,
but i'm not giving something for nothing,
anymore than i'll accept that as payment for unrendered services.
if you've earned it, it's not being nice.
it's doing right.
nice isn't allowed unless it's a side-effect of truth-telling.
what really gets me worried is the idea that nice guys finish last.
and i think that's a real thing.
i'm not trying to act as the agent of my own undoing, guys-
i'm looking for a come-from-behind victory;
a surprise ending;
a plot twist;
a late-day, last-minute, midnight reversal of fortune.
second place isn't gonna cut it, either.
the universe is cruel,
but nature always wins...
and nice has nothing to do with it;
never quiet, never soft.....