words

juggle these thin differences
up and down and back and forth
like,
low batteries, low fuel gauges,
low balances, empty glasses,
pockets, wake up slow fears
crawl through dirty thoughts,
personal fences erected
each morning to be contested.

earbuds conceal differences
as we stumble past ourselves,
one another in the blank delusion,
look side to side,
anywhere but at one another,
so different, so different
no reason can be come to
in the ritual canvasing of each other.

stake claims to very important things,
prices at the supermarket,
coupons and rights are no different
so long as we agree on the terms,
barcodes, indignation, privilege,
arguments must be had now
or the blood will remain unresolved,
guns and land, nothing more relevant to now
than that which is current and tangible,
ideas are transient.

money every two weeks,
over again over again
the small arithmetic grips like panic
as zero approaches,
is everything taken care of
or is this another in the long lineage of close calls,
failures and cousins of failures,
uncles of nothing,
we the dark underlings of promise.

2015sm