counterfeit commercials /
blink in each house /
before the families arrive /
what is held could be more /
love is across another border /
the offers are real /
the purchases change colour the next day /
an old weathered road grey /
room temperature ground beef from christmas /
that thing in the corner /
no one talks about /
summer in every scene /
dripping its yellow /
on the tight smiling heads /
laughing and screaming at the same time /
and someday, space everywhere /
even this chair /
creaking in geological time /
heard if you pause for a few millennia /
time is a loop around our waists /
believing we can see it /
like a loose leash /
tugging its obedience forward /
that is why everyone should carry a knife /
for self-defense against the abstract /
what is new /
has been newer /
we can learn a little /
from Pound’s takeout menu /
time is so-so /
it’s the scaffolding outside the building /
that lasts /
pick a word, any word /
to end the species /
it won’t be a bomb /
it will be a phrase /
tearing off and folding up /
all the drywall /
it’s not a mistake /
it’s the truth being a little coy /
lifting up a penciled eyebrow /
making us feel /
like we’re part of the longer conversation /
for an instant
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