Acceptance — Summary

thank you thank you wow it’s such an honor to be here tonight on this couch in a waltham basement

i’d just like to take a moment to thank the man who shouted have a nice day angrily it seemed as i passed him on wards island bridge in the rain

and the one who told me he’d throw me in the fucking tracks at the rockefeller center station if i didn’t give him all the money in my wallet dude tried that at rush hour i just apologized and walked away

and the person who proffered a hug to every passerby in occupied zuccotti park i accepted it was a very tight hug i’d like to thank every store

and fast food establishment that has received an application from me since i decided not to go back to new york and never called i’d like to thank my parents

for covering the copay for the therapist who convinced me i wasn’t as fucked up as i thought i was and the watertown target

for finally giving me a job once i’d pissed in a cup

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The poem borrows the language of an awards-night speech, then uses it to list the bruises and small mercies of a rough few years. The speaker sits on a couch in a basement, a long way from any stage, and thanks strangers who were hostile, threatening, or oddly tender: a man who snapped "have a nice day" in the rain, a mugger on a subway platform, a person offering tight hugs in a park.

The tone is deadpan and sarcastic, but the sarcasm isn't only bitter. The speaker seems worn down, yet still able to joke, and the gratitude gets more real as the poem goes on. Parents pay for therapy, the therapist says the speaker isn't as damaged as they believed, and a store finally offers a job after a drug test. The ending is flat and unglamorous, which is the point: the "award" is just getting by. The mood mixes embarrassment, dry humor, and a small, hard-won relief.

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