Had a Point to Make
Could’ve been about how we’re both impulsive
online shoppers buying the last great snake oil of our lives,
or, knowing me, notes on the transformative nature
of whatever music I’m into at the moment.
Maybe I wanted to say, Sorry your recent fling
didn’t work out, or Sorry mine hasn’t started.
A movie I watched the other night surprised me.
Was it that? I’m speechless, empty
as a bird feeder burgled by squirrels.
Whatever this was, it left me standing
at the shadowy station as the train vanished
in the tunnel of my open mouth—roar, whine, &
rattle silenced by distance until I had nothing to tell.
Defeated, I built this monument to my lack.
What I Did Yesterday
Went to breakfast, waited in a long line
because everyone in the city wants to eat out,
walk unmasked & vulnerable
through doorways that seemed like barricades before.
The pancakes I savored were sweet & fluffy,
sure, the bacon crisp as a spear—
greasy, perfect. Two vaccine needles
told me Live! & this is life, a simple spread,
as death is a feast for what comes after.
Next up: movies, concerts, post-
pandemic orgies. Not there yet,
I’m still afraid of crooked gods.
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