You’ve got a broken faucet and I’ve got fifteen minutes until class. I dig holes in the

dirt in the pots on the windowsill; fill them with seeds, water, and more dirt. Park the

driveway in the truck. Flowers will be here soon. Let the leaves, rustling and quiet,

meander across your front yard, searching for the trees they fell from. I want only to

hold the girl with the b-12 deficiency again, though I know that if I could, I would

want only a girl with sufficient b vitamins. Jacques Lacan tells us that lack is the rational

kernel of love, and we both know my heart is a dirty casserole dish.

The exposed redbrick was not an aesthetic decision; someone designed this building for

industrial purposes. I hope it would warm the architect’s heart to know the way I live.

David, on the roof, climbed the fence, and stood on the ledge. Stoned, I said, ‘don’t kill

yourself ’ and then, ‘I’m sorry that was a stupid thing to say.’ I can’t tell you the things

I’ve lost, the girl with the b-12 deficiency, for example.

Hold up your hotdog if you’re down to party. This is the good part. The poem wants

only to point out where it is and where it is not. This is the good part. If you hold a

cup to your ear, you can hear the ocean, too. I zip up my trousers and unfold my shirt,

iron it, wear it. This is the good part. It’s all down hill from here. The meteor and its

moon passed by earth and we’re all okay. We’re just getting better and better. Every day

I open my eyes and remember what the world looks like. I fill a mug with hot water

and a teabag. Now we’re partying. Don’t forget there will be flowers soon.

I could only describe what we’re doing now as losing it. My fingers fell through the

dark black hair of Texas. I feed the cat and clean out its litter box. This is the good part.

Quietly and in a soft voice, David, shortly after being aggressively negative, looked into

my eyes and said, ‘you’re not so bad,’ and I felt my heart split open, because we’re all

just kids waiting to get drunk enough. If you’re trying not to lose your shit, though, I

recommend going to a different room, because this is the good part, and in this room,

everybody is losing everything.