meditations in the decline of western civilization
"this is how i ground myself. / i follow the writing on the wall."
Return (For Chicago)
"This city isn’t built on bullets / alone."
A Minor Biographical Insight
"What I remember of South Bend is smoking in the back yard. / The small, short houses of a cheap and curbless neighborhood."
3666 Warren Avenue E. Detroit, MI 48207
"Somewhere the houses are rebuilding themselves./Sanding away the lead-coated paint from their siding."
Ancient Places
"Every curve & angle of us was a sign to the end of times; / ... but we were too high and mighty to hear the trumpet"
When Asked to Describe Gary “In Your Own Words”
"I get to say that I’m from here."
In Detroit
"In Detroit we are always planting trees."
Minneapolis, Revisited
"They said the city was a testament to liberal pragmatism. They said that the gaunt-eyed brown children of the borderless had ruined it."
Alternate Ending
"In this version no one has to wear a wig to senior prom/because of chemo. No one’s car is set on fire."
Fragmentos de Niña Codiciosa
"Does land have a memory?"
No Room for the Elbow Room
"Okay, radical honesty:/The Elbow Room probably wasn’t the greatest bar in the history of bars"
Caucus Night
"We went last night to stand and/be counted at the high school/gymnasium."