Underscore

It's not that I'm afraid of going
anywhere — it's just that I prefer

museums, theaters and libraries
and those are all too expensive,

too far away, or too self-aware.
I cannot slip into a seat at the movies

and forget who I am. I have not
driven over the 10th street bridge

this year and it does not look like I will.
Add that to the tab. Pull more weight

than you are used to, and you will
glide with ease the second you are

pruned naked. This is my experience.
My exhibition has grown stuffy and

dangerously familiar with mold.
Who demands my youth to arrange

its end? Is there not enough of it going around,
are there not enough failures fucking around?

I see them day and night, they twist my words,
and shower me with shouts of gaiety.

Locked in the daze of false-bottom days,
I bungle their poise and potential.

Show me some good, honest work,
and I'll show you how it lies.