27.6.24

Four Poems by Mark Young

He’s Beginning to Disappear

 

Subtle but inescapable. The small

things vanish first — a few eye-

lashes, a corner of one shoulder.

 

But they're not the critical items.

Those are kept in the minds of other

people, in their memory banks; &

 

it's there that erasure occurs, some-

times gradual, sometimes rapid,

always inexorable. Comes a time

 

when your best friend today turns

to another BFT & asks them: who's

this person that you're talking about?

 

 

A line from Buster Keaton

 

A small tube, with a tiny camera

attached, is inserted into an incision

filled with acrylic shavings & tur-

quoise chips made from artificial

 

stones. Purified kraft lignin permits

its adherence to untreated fabric —

an alternative to using glue which

would tear that camera to pieces. "Why

 

is this all being done in my name? I did-

n’t ask for it." "But it’s done as a homage

to you, a song of praise for that — isn’t it? —

bedpan humor you’re renowned for."

 

 

another / poem from / the spam box

 

Fortunately, your money has been reviewed.

Your new assistant's trade was executed pleasantly.

Recuperate your prevalent ID profile, liberally check.

 

Your yearly plan will after a short time go into results.

The got demand bill has been charged no further.

 

We esteem your deeply grounded legitimacy in the eyes.

Assuming no one really cares either way, practice in-

dustriousness while your demise request is inspected.

 

 

Surveillance astrolabes

 

In this rapidly evolving digital land-

scape, buying more than the necessary

 

amount of needed items simply says

you care less about saving money &/or

 

saving the planet than seizing each &

every opportunity to demonstrate how

 

important conspicuous consumption has

become in validating your way of life.