Why can’t people be like my dog?
Ignoring the $15 chew toy
Made with gen-you-wine rabbit fur
To relish the precious plastic bottle cap
Mined from under the couch

I have had enough of people  
Of life
I have had enough of the noises
We make on cue
The buttons pressed
The buzzes and whirs
That always fizzle
The righteous anger
And the bloodlust masquerading as fact
The hopeless treadmill of pleasure
And this glass of high proof alcohol
That disinfects my heart

Sitting alone at my party
I think of my coworker
With the gubmint 24 years and counting
For 35 hours per week
He preaches personal responsibility
While surfing his favorite political blog
I watch my dog bark at passersby
From behind the safety
Of the double paned window
To be alive is to be separate
To realize it consciousness

Every sappy movie I watch
Every love song hear
Every  tragic romance
Every honey soaked poem
That makes children groan

Every golden day
Every bursting flower
Every shimmering sea
Every cozy nook
Just big enough for two

Every time
Every ******* time
I think of you

You are the heroine in my biography
You are the infectious refrain
You are the catalyst of suicide
You are the eyes that start wars
And the blood that ends them

You are the sun
Nourishing the budding rose
Heating the swirling water
And setting us adrift
Carefree and content
Trying to remember when
To figure out how
The world became so lovely

When I was a freshman in high school
I wrote a poem
I had to read it to my English class
As ordered
I read it

Later that day
In Math
A girl from the English class
Who rarely spoke to me
Asked for a copy
(Of my poem!)

That night
Flattered
Elated
And *****
I printed the poem
And put it in a letter envelope

The next day
In English
She was three desks away
An extension of the arm
I could see her smile
Hear her thank me
And feel how it felt
As she told me how wonderful I was
But the envelope lay crumpled in the bottom of my backpack for years

You are not a Roman
In life, no matter your country, we do as the Romans do
If you are not a Roman you will be unhappy
Romans go to school and have high school sweethearts
They get good jobs, get married, reproduce, retire and die
It is a wonderful thing to the Romans.
The right thing
The only thing
Just as long as it doesn’t get interrupted by tragedies like cancer, cults, art, or radical political opinions
The Romans like
Action! that releases adrenalin
Fatty, sugary, salty foods
Endorphins
Catchy musical patterns
Games!
Catchphrases
And love stories (***! tee hee)
There are a million ways to not be a Roman,
But most roads lead to Rome
The Romans smile on those who do as the Romans do
They adore freedom
To be anything you want to be
To be yourself
To be as the Romans are
Why would it be any other way?
Would you be angry at a dog ******* on a fire hydrant?
They are instinct devoid of the context that created it
The Romans don’t understand Why? anyone would want to do Otherwise
Clearly
The Romans
(Quite understandably mind you)
Understand
Who wouldn't want all this?

The only thing I want is you
We'll live on the outskirts of Rome
Eating Thai fusion
Discovering new chemicals for our brains
Electricity
That still registers a signal
The movies we've seen
Before
And before that
We'll wave at the strangers in a strange land
A dried-up decaying laugh track
Dust dancing in time
A place I care less and less about every day
Every
*******
Minute