there’s an intrusion detected

a pollution prospected

a seclusion projected

by thoughts of belong

so quick to the bottle and “AHH”

the munition injected

the confusion corrected

the illusion perfected

and finally clean:

the glass, at last, the succulent mass

to cover the pane

that gapes the façade

the unsheltered shapes

between masonry parts

where the cold draft blows

until a cold drought flows

downed, gargled, and gorged

as the tongue tumbles and throws

until tied up with letters

mutant and transposed

that like sorcery spell

some other man’s words

and for what?

the chance to spew matter

noxious and scorn

to lay retching and wretched

on each Sabbath morn?

on the job you proclaim,

“I’m a practical man

  I live and let live

    and I do what I can.”

but is this really

a tractable plan?

to arrest your cognition

for a minor infraction

to solve for the “Why”

with addiction subtraction?

well, you can try

to saturate the airways

in subterfuge and collude

with the agents who promise

a prosperous deluge

and cut through the wires

that signal out smoke

with chemical scissors

on synaptic spokes

but when the room stops its spin

and the network goes live

and the receiver tunes in

to a crisp AM chime

how will you mind?