decompose is the name of this show

those things do matter rob
what else would there be to talk about
if not for our favorite snl skits
the first album we bought
that took our breath away
or the zebra gum we would chew
when we were young
until it became
hard like little hearts
said to be the size of a fist

i’m still dumb for love
hideaway for three straight days
only to come out for a new summer blockbuster
or an instant art house classic
that all the critics are raving about

overcharged for tickets
and still
the theater workers obviously have no respect
for film as artifact
you have to clean those things
and it is quite obvious by the previews that
they do not care like i do
because of
endless scratches and green lines
or worse
every time the air conditioner comes on
you miss an important piece of dialogue

on most friday afternoons
i wait to hear from you
stirring my imaginary spoon
in the nonexistent coffee cup conveniently next to
a stack of books i use for research
all pertinent to what we want to phrase
globalization
but in reality
it is nothing more than
the history of capitalism

staring
in hopes i perfectly convey
whatever english student phase
is important to embody these days

don’t read too much past the disguise
you may find
a caricature of someone
you thought you knew
every night sky has another side
the parts seen
are only a portion
the rest choose to hide

if shakespeare was still relevant today
he would undoubtedly teach us
people are experiments in time
with never ending
needs and dreams
conflicting with the necessity of sleep

but all of these fashionable kids who
read bukowski and dream of half sleeves
believe we are all
poor drunk bastard stories
in one way or another
hoping someone will listen to ours
like its their birth right

we all know living is practice
how one dies is more important
manhattanlovessuicides
but in buffalo
they bury us alive
about now
we should wake up and realize
to exist is obsolete
it is so last week
decompose
is the name of this show

simple lines a mind can find when you just take time

slow down
take note
of the world around you
full of ghosts
and lifeboats

inside aluminum cans
blue sparks black rubber
everyone drives
away from error

an undeveloped disposable camera
with one picture left to make
fear the floor
situations in which you are faced
with the option of giving it all and possibly even more

the idea of not needing someone to save

what we could be

Profile: Patrick Riedy