in the at&t store
or whatever you call it
everything is so so cold
and the phones are too shiny and sleek and black
and they are on plastic hangers
which go on metal rods
and the people that work there
wear really starchy shirts
with embroidered logos

i am here
and i am also wearing a shirt i don't like
its way too small
and my armpits are uncomfortable

im here because i am buying one of those shiny phones
because its my birthday
the day i was born
almost exactly 16 years before
but it takes so long
and i don't want to be in this cold room
and i feel like i have been in cold rooms all day
and i start crying because i'm surrounded by phones
while the guy talks about insurance to my mom

i dont want a phone
i want to go home
and i want to take off this shirt