{476}{579}The reason why people compose|poems and blues tunes
{586}{669}is related to the fact that life|is short, sweet, and fleeting.
{676}{774}Blues prove the strangeness|of each individual's destiny.
{780}{819}Charles Simic
{1476}{1524}They start|giving you grades at birth.
{1530}{1602}If you come out with everything|in place, if you cry loudly
{1608}{1678}and if you're over 4 kilos you can|get a 10, if not, it gets lower.
{1734}{1757}start 1
{1844}{1879}If you're precocious
{1886}{1977}and if you start walking or saying|"mama" before ten months,
{1996}{2072}you can even get a 9 and a half.
{2128}{2151}start 2
{2366}{2470}As soon as you begin nursery|school, grades start pouring in.
{2524}{2548}start 3
{2752}{2861}In school you have to face up|to the festival of scores.
{3182}{3263}The worst is when they score you|on the girls you date,
{3324}{3415}the car you have,|your house, your job.
{3424}{3512}We exist to get and give grades,|there's nothing wrong with that.
{3532}{3599}If there's nothing wrong with|quitting what you like to do
{3606}{3674}to only do things which|will assure you good scores.
{3918}{3956}On a scale from 0 to 10,
{3962}{4013}my present is a 6...
{4020}{4049}..minus...
{4056}{4084}..minus.
{4100}{4138}I have an 85 sq m apartment,
{4154}{4235}stand up shower with Turkish bath,|Japanese bed.
{4246}{4289}My ulcer gets an 8 and a half,
{4344}{4389}just like my distant past.
{4402}{4440}My recent past gets a 6.
{4446}{4564}My brother Ivan was a legend,|he's gone now.
{4626}{4679}For 20 years I've had 3 friends.
{4710}{4774}If you take'em,|I'm offering a nudie calendar.
{4902}{4947}I have a wife.
{5024}{5097}I have an '82 van.
{5146}{5214}I have an ID card that|I occasionally consult.
{5224}{5292}Lucky you if you always know|who you are!
{5310}{5389}There's more,|but I'll spare you a W2 report.
{5398}{5444}My future ranges from a 9 to a 4,
{5456}{5501}depending on how I wake up.
{5508}{5592}Today, my future's  ...