Tailspin

The world we inherited
Constructed with spare parts
and in people’s spare time
unpaid overtime, essentially,
is aesthetically a mess.

You disagree,
potentially,
please allow me a preemptive
rebuttal.

You see the larger picture.
This is not a compliment.
Your vision is skewered,
as is mine,
to interpret our
surroundings
and respond with immediacy,
urgency.

This does not lend itself
to uncovering details.
Our vision’s credit is bankrupt.
Rather, it encourages
self-loathing, which is trailed
by moral grandstanding turned outward.

. i’m getting lost in the weeds again .

I was born in the wrong generation.
i need lawnmower parents.
Need is a strong word.
How much does it pay in gym fees?
What is Jim Fee’s credit score?
I should invest in gear
to conduct identity fraud.

Lawnmower Parents
are my safe words
to stay focused
on how I say words.

. get on with it .

Quiet!
I’ll say it direct and quick.
We are too focused on
our own imperfections.
We fail to appreciate the
loveliness
of all our world’s
imperfections.

Everywhere you gaze,
they exist.
Like molecules, 90 degree angles
or Rasputin-esque charlatans
built for the modern age
with terrible credit scores.

Everywhere was built with haste.
Everywhere was built with food,
or children,
or spouses,
or bed,
in mind.

So don’t mind
your daily failures.
Everywhere is a daily failure.
Embrace this occasion
to fully flaunt your failings.
Follow our fore-bearers,
Fall gracefully
in a tailspin.

Michael Carney