'Shoulds' don't belong in headlines.
Tomorrow is January 20, 2025.
city on fire
choked with smoke
looking for an expired insurance card
while standing outside a bezos clinic
waiting for a one minute appointment
across the street
it’s too frozen to smile
pomp and circumstance sneers
and moves inside
ordering the complimentary blankets
unreachable
stored away for future dignity(aries)
don’t know whether to shiver
or strip down to skivvies
but gotta make a decision
the blinds
the blinds
are calling
open blinds
frame a movie screen
where trailers for the apocalypse
play for hours on end
a feature featuring
the favorite nepo hire of the moment
is still being financed
but will play
it’s promised
right after these messages
so scroll
scroll for doom
scroll for ways to make life better
someone is always listening
someone is always selling
now close the blinds
and scroll for connection
hands hold a world
terrifying and vast
far away and next door
unfathomable and laughable
laughter for many straight minutes
then no laughter for days
days line up
shatter apart
come back together
without much thought
except for the deliberate ones
the ones called out in negative terms
ignored with silent seething shame
the ones that serve as important reminders
that celebrate the ones who walked through the dark dark dark
of many nights so
at least one day
could be a new day
even as google runs its massive sims game
direction is hard to come by
up the block
turn around
down the block
turn around
back up the block
to the start
it’s easy to get turned around
when ‘should’ is the excuse the command the inquiry
when ‘should’ is the judge and executioner
no juries of peers here
‘should’ sets the stage for too many questions
and the stage was relocated
with no forwarding address
stamps are too expensive anyway
no matter
no One needs to tell Us what You ‘should’ be doing
We know
We know You aren’t doing it
and that You don’t care to start
Your conversations behind closed doors
with closed eyes
belie the validity of Your promises
but We see it all
and
.
.
.
not everything can be wrapped up neatly
in optimism
I wouldn’t insult Us so
because We see it all
and We’ve bought all the thesauruses
and Together
We know
every single antonym of
Your ‘shoulds’
Today, I only have a very simple and sincere ‘thank you’ for you. Thank you for reading. Take care of yourselves.