What We’re Watching Now

1.
A camera catches an act of theft. A hand
slides into a purse. A purse is held under
a slot machine. Someone wants a machine
to protect commercial interests. Someone
lies frozen on the couch during a commercial.
Frozen hope leads to lapsed expectations.
Lapsed logic gets lost in a file. A lost voice
won’t return. The senator is screaming
about the return of the steam engine.
The street steams: we need antennae to find
our hotel. Our ancient antennae are useless.
We just stare at each other.

2.
For details on corporate corruption we milk
the book. For us, books are bricks, though some argue
flames or wings. Under the wing of a 747 our house
looks tiny. This house is full of anger over the point
-count of antlers. The senator points to the birth
rate as a sign of his decline. We aren’t convinced.
Convinced our obsolete machines are suicidal,
his followers push typewriters from bridges.
The bridge buckles as an acrobat balances on a wire
above an earthquake. During the ground-breaking
the senator kisses a constituent’s neck.
We aren’t having fun.

* * *

This is the beginning of what I hope will be a series of poems.