Life (Maybe)
most of mine
has been spent
wondering if i have it,
whether i’m pissing it away
or
if simply, it was never mine
to begin with.
it’s a consumer world.
i keep going
in and out
of the stores
the coffee shops
the oil changes
and fruit-stands.
the hordes of humans
doing,
doing horror
for the dollar
simply because we’ve been told
it must be done,
that there is no other way.
that people really have to live
these lives opposite of life
to appease the number
the landlord
the bank
the idea.
while we slowly defeat
each other,
while we slowly defeat
ourselves
with every opening
of the register,
ignoring the tilt
and spin of the earth
the number must go up,
and go on
in spite of the soul.
but,
i am no cure.
i am no better.
walking into
another store —
liquor store.
there’s
another body behind the machine
ringing up
my case of beer.
i stick in
my little plastic card
and we stand there
waiting
for it
to happen.
