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prior to becoming cynical and absolute

become a witness to another woman’s prayer

in the presence of Our Lady of Pompeii

the people next to you discussing an ongoing tab

of thousands of dollars

you don’t know if it’s a bit

birds fly more confidently

by your head than

they hop around your feet

everything is stained in tears

by theory of circulation

funny how one will try to put a spin on something

that is simply tragic

why try to take that away from it

i don’t have words for what happens when i am laughing

or crying with another person

except divine intervention

the air is warm, the sky bleak

this morning my neighbor smiled at me

i can’t tell you what happened in september

or last week

what i can say is that

the most intrinsic truths will not seem obvious at first

you’re allowed to rewrite your mythology everyday

just like everybody else

tomorrow and yesterday are names written in sand

at night lately i feel as if

my bed were gates of solitary confinement

i’ve been walking down the sidewalk with my eyes closed

counting in my head

by the time i get to eleven

i feel like i’m going to die

this is my personal training

i can’t say exactly what happened in september

except perhaps we collectively experienced most of it

this seat in front of prodigy coffee at 33 carmine

surrounded by flowers and breath

well it kind of smells like shit

i’m both thrilled and terrified

at the idea of getting old

simultaneously i’ve gathered that

all of us young and old

are losing it

this is our glue and downward spiral

a sense of confusion permeates me

it is important to take time each day

to embrace absurdity

lest you start thinking that things happen in a logical way