poem

(untitled)

What it takes to wake up today

is the same as it’s always been—

same as back when we

used little sticks

to write numbers

and stories

into clay.

What it takes to wake up today

is an idea like

a strike of lightning

which exposes the

background darkness

in your skull,

how you’ve been living

like a balloon-head—

sleepwalking along

as if what advertisers

say is right—that

we’re all the same—

each a genius in our

own way—

where billionaire

spacecraft builders,

and vapid celebrities

act as if they really are

an artist,

as if they really

do burn for the truth—

and are those

to exalt.

Yet even if those days are dead,

it still doesn’t change

what it takes

to wake up today.