Before You Were Nothing
A man of no fortune with a name to come.
Important things are happening
in the outside world of events,
but no one ever mentions you.
You have had a celebrity buzz cut.
You are not attuned to twittering.
The glasses you broke work better now.
Your hunger for renown is so great
that you can’t stand to order poverty.
The vultures circle you like protein.
Your bed is an ancient dry well.
The ghosts of your memories
can’t even afford clean sheets.
Do not these signal events import?
If you could but get your boyish face
out there on the Internet, someone
in that outside world might mention you,
and the virtual lottery of fame would
allow you to purchase and stockpile
marrow bones, crème brûlée and napalm.
You could go out with a belch of flame,
and everyone would say they knew you
long before you were even nothing.
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