1.
I want to call the man who invented the snooze button
every nine minutes for the rest of his life.
"What?" he'll say. "What is it? What do you want?"
"Nothing," I'll say. "I'll tell you later."
2.
The woman that I eat with periodically looks up from her salad
to say what a bad lover I am.
"I know," I say. "I'm dealing with it. Things will get better,
I promise. I just need more time."
We agree to give it more time,
to develop a routine, to arrive home each day
dedicated to putting forth our best bodies.
After several more minutes of silence, I know
what's coming.
"You're a bad lover," she says, her mouth full of lettuce.
3.
When we wake up, the neighbor's dog is outside our window,
announcing something important in brisk, measured barks.
It's how we imagine a quadriplegic might have to applaud,
inspired by the gentle light beyond the telephone wires.
4.
The soldier lies awake all night,
listening to the predatory rustles from the other bunks.
5.
There is no more apocalypse.
There's nothing left to mention.
Everyone has gone home, except the batboy.
He stands under the only working spotlight
hitting baseballs, foul after foul,
into the ocean.
6.
For whatever reason,
it snowed all day. We listened
as our knobby scars healed.
Today we make good on our
lifetime memberships to the
Theater of Constantly Relocating Targets.
The line spills out into the street,
waiting for the waiting room to be unlocked.
7.
In one movie, the entirely naked football team
celebrates victory by inviting
our starlet the cheerleader into the locker room.
They gather themselves around her saying
hold still. It will only take moments and moments.
