Arrested Development
her parents said
-believe in God
-believe in yourself
-believe in family
-don’t have sex it will
leave you
empty
i thought of
these things, and
many other things
as she pulled into
a park, turned off her headlights
and lit a
cigarette
I said, “I
don’t think this is
a good idea”
she took off
her shirt
I said, “I can’t
I’m dirty”
she unhinged her
leopard bra
I said, “jesus,
if I ever have a daughter
there’s no way to stop her,
is there?”
she handed me a
water bottle and
said, Go Clean Off
her parents were asleep
when we got back, but the goddamn
brother-
3 feet shorter than me
100 pounds lighter, but
with a better haircut, said
“I didn’t say you
could come back over”.
he smiled to himself, as if
he had won something
I smiled back, and thought
if that’s what you need
then take it ... I’ve already
helped myself.
I fell asleep
i fell asleep
thinking
about lorraine’s
toes,
and how she’d
never show
them to me.
but
she let me
see
everything no one
else is
ever supposed to
see.
now, at night
i don’t stay up
thinking
about our bar
crawls
or parking lot
sex.
i fall asleep
thinking
about lorraine’s
feet,
and how she
never showed
them to me.
the dog days are over
sometimes
when i lose too much faith in the world-
too many wars
too many police
all going so right
for the wrong,
i look at my dog,
fearless
asleep
farting
shedding
all over my couch.
a wild animal brought in
to serve a purpose
that went extinct
with the letter
and the barn.
and i think “all
this animal has to do
is shit
in the right place
and it makes me happy.”
that’s it.
of course, the dog can operate
with no regard because it
doesn’t know the greatest
fear- that someday
it will
die.
but as animals
grow weak,
and the weak
are killed
and eaten,
humans grow old
in community
homes. and sometimes
they’ve lost it, and drool
on bingo boards and smile
at the space between
them and time. but usually
they haven’t. and
because they
are old and
boring they’re
stuck away, to ride out the days alone,
and watch their roommates
drop out one by one.
and at the end, their very first
learned lesson becomes their last-
if they want to keep everyone
happy,
all they have to do is shit in the right place.
