Group Therapy


Group therapy sessions
Ninety dollars an hour
And worth every penny
Even if it is really
Just fifty five minutes

And only ten minutes or so
Are really mine
The rest is spent listening
While the others take turns
Whining about “relationships” and shit

We share our innermost secrets there
And I can’t speak for them
But I’m open and honest
Because it’s cost effective
A waste of time and money otherwise

No one, not even the shrink
Ever offers any advice
We might ask insightful questions
And feign a caring concern
But there are no answers to offer

I switched to group last summer
Had to distance myself from the Doc
Started telling me of HIS personal problems
Persecuted… victimized by anti-Semitism
Asked if I’d score him some pot

I had to get away from that
But I need the therapy… these sessions
No telling what horrible things I might do
If I didn’t have to confess it all
At least once a week

So I tell ‘em like it is
I tell them about my week
Of my encounters with a society
Who’s every move enrages me
Almost… goddamn… almost uncontrollably

I speak slowly and calmly
Of my rage and disdain
And of the violent urges
I managed to contain
What might have been if not for them

And let me tell you
They listen intently
And cautiously ask questions
Careful not to probe
Too deeply into my nihilism

None dare to act judgmental
No remorse or acts of contrition expected
Ninety dollars penance
And I’m on my way
Off to act normal for seven more days

Oct.2000

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