when I picked up
the bottle of tylenol
shook it
and heard nothing
except the fluorescent lights
humming Gershwin out of tune.
my disk drive
is also noiser than usual.
like me
it's wired
on fresh-ground high-octane Columbian Supremo
blood of the gods.
like me
it's slowly
digesting itself
in an ever-tightening
recursive loop.
like me
it's quickly
running out of space.
I'm doing this
because I lost my perspective
in a fog of shimmering phosphorus.
I'm doing this
because it hurts too much
to say goodbye.
Paul David Mena
30 September, 1996
Acton, MA
