It’s Memorial Day Sunday,
I glide back into town
From Red Bud Trail
And the bypass.
.
I’m filling gas and
Next to me
I notice a woman who
Seems kind of
Eclectic and lively, like
Someone who would be
Really into cats
Or maybe Van Gogh.
.
Ok, that’s a stretch.
.
Cats and plants.
.
She is regardless
Accompanying a man who’s
Riding a motorcycle and
Who strikes me generally,
Sidelong,
As big, ugly and angry.
.
Eventually
After the man administers
Various mannerisms and gesticulations
Which somewhat resemble epileptic seizures,
.
The two get on the bike and start to ride away.
.
The weather is perfect
And I’m a near-immaculate mood
So when I almost cut them off
While leaving,
I give a very polite
Smile and wave, letting them go.
.
The fu**ing bastard doesn’t even
Smile or wave as, staring at me
In ugly clothes, an ugly face and
A loud, obnoxious vehicle,
They ride off.
The next Sunday I’m in Big Lots
And there’s a couple next to me.
.
I’m pretty accustomed to just keeping my
Head down around people
But this guy is like
Jerking his arms up and down
Like a crackhead
And lunging to and fro,
To the point where
.
I find myself trying to stare him down,
And then I kind of just feel bad,
Because I know how people are
(I especially know how this dude is).
.
He goes to church and
Gets a new truck to polish
Every year and now
We’re all going to hear about it,
Whether he tells us or not.
.
And he’s convulsing and
Lunging around, in
Big Lots, rather like
A dog would, sending
My blood pressure up and
My level of interest down
And there’s the woman,
Rewarding the ape-like
Disposition like some
Paradigmatic swatch of
Universal law that is
The only thing that could have
Created Taylor Swift.
.
And I just put my head down
And walk out and
Try not to care about
The pervasive devolution movement
Prevalent in our culture
And I don’t.