Invited

I try to look at what’s in front of me
the way I would if I were looking
at what I know is missing somewhere
in the frame.
This stupid selfish painting weighing down
the wall is burning up today,
but I can’t say a part of me won’t miss it.

The neighbors on their balcony
are pulling drinks out of a cooler
like how I picture Hades handling
the souls he has to check
for any cracks that might lead on
to something worse in other lifetimes.

It’s a luxury to pick the curse you’re born with,
and with these prototypes they’re selling
it is possible to rewrite all the rules.

I asked the tour guide on my fourth grade
field trip if it was really a bank robbery
if nobody got shot, and I was sent out
just to wait among the figures
in the corridors of wax.

I feel pity for almost anything on screen
during nature documentaries and that includes
the dumb commercials interrupting
all the sequences of death.

I tape entire sports seasons and watch
the games in reverse chronological order
so the stakes just fall to nothing
as I spend the time absorbing all
the scoreboards.

A plus one at a party, I was at,
over estimated the limit on the casual
environment, and ended up
leaving early after stealing
half drunk bottles off the tables.

I was outside smoking when
I made eye contact with them
as they sped out of the parking lot
never blinking once, but knowing
that I knew.