Sketches in Various Positions
Dreaming of men with hats,
heads that float in all directions,
they spin, they bounce,
they fly, and never lose their hats
Maybe they have lost
everything else that mattered,
their careers, their cars,
their mortgages taken from them
I notice they have no suits,
no ties, no polished shoes for me
to look at and see myself,
and if I am causing offense hatless
But they maintain speed
and distance, adhering to angles,
whatever I am here,
I am between friend and failure
Up ahead, a head from behind,
profile raised, with a fez,
is he here to wander after losing
a whole empire or caliphate?Dreaming of men with hats,
heads that float in all directions,
they spin, they bounce,
they fly, and never lose their hats
Maybe they have lost
everything else that mattered,
their careers, their cars,
their mortgages taken from them
I notice they have no suits,
no ties, no polished shoes for me
to look at and see myself,
and if I am causing offense hatless
But they maintain speed
and distance, adhering to angles,
whatever I am here,
I am between friend and failure
Up ahead, a head from behind,
profile raised, with a fez,
is he here to wander after losing
Your Friend Opticon
to the ever present friend,
no longer a foe posing and hiding,
stalking you like a voyeur
from corners and behind mirrors
It will bring you out on your own,
enticing you, instead
of breaking and entering a home,
setting up beer gardens
where you can loaf in sudsy luxury
Your smiles, laughter, and chatter,
are all valuable
to the new system, it wants to see
you enjoying yourself,
not just breaking a couple of laws
And as a special favor and bonus
it will let you see
how the system looks back at you,
its bulbous cameras
glossy on the walls like eyeballs