the world is round

it's past the time
he woke up
emptied of resources
a vast collection
of blank refrains
perfect mantras that
celebrate these
hollow derivative
gestures

teenage lies and self-mythologized
conspiracies
angry solutions to
homebrewed situations
the art of convincing
the half-interested to fuck
this damaged scaffolding

decisions whose pedigree a poisoned
brain jettisoning accountability
putting on adult garments that
filter sensations like touch or
shamelessly absorb the crass
sunlight

calendars emptied of meaning
beleaguered journeys down mystic
nocturnal freezing dawn avenues
prescribing value and achievement to
events
alchemy constructing cracked armor

he collected antiques
odd old phrases
former glamors
underlined text in stolen books
literary snake oil
remembered adrenaline
disintegrated tshirts
betrayals
passionate angers
smoking the soft moss that inevitably grows on a romance from 14
years ago

he thought memories were a building material
he thought he was old enough to enjoy his simple needs
young enough to make each warm day new
he thought that avocados on sale for 99 cents and
they have those greek yogurts he likes
he thought trains running local between yankee
stadium and fordham he
thought be home after midnight don't
lock me out thought25pushups
inthemorningthought wonderful pronunciation
of hebrew for a spanish kid thought
the world isn't round
it's flat
like a map in a nintendo
game