Poem: Something New

Something New

let's find an alien

that would give us

ideas to talk about

a story to obsessively repeat

and some imagery for our fantasies

surely an abduction

would nourish our relations

for plenty of couch chats

and nights beside the fire

for our own experience

is much grander

than the best movies

or the epic games

it will be a fun endeavor

but it has to be big

so let's use those movies

let's use the fat from the cultural binge-eating

because it's easier

to use the conditioning as a tool

than it is to scrub it out

so we will go to starbucks

and pull out our macs

and scribble on our legal pads

I will say

"Throw out your pencil, you school-child"

and I'll scavenge

for a pen

with no cap

and I will give it to you

we'll wear rectangular glasses

and with 9 tabs open

the blue will shine

off your eyewear

and your eyes will

dash

left to right

and down

and 1's and 0's

will speed across your vision

I will rip a piece off the pad

and crumple it

and flick it to the middle of the table

we'll leave

with a shopping list

an itinerary

and instructions

to perform strange rituals

on the day of our search

we'll stick to a strict

grape-juice diet

and it's your pick

between yoga and tai chi

and then

when the day starts getting old

we'll walk out

with our backpacks

we will walk far

and get lost

and we will place our pads

by some trees

but near a cornfield

our phones will be off

but the green glow

of my digital watch

will tell us midnight

we will have a fire

and a wooden bowl with water

we'll build up dirt mounds

and I'll ring a shrill little bell

It'll all be organized into a pentagram

somehow

a strange thing will come

if we let it

and I'm committed

will you commit too?

and it will come

because we will know

that it will

because when people scheme

in the movies

they always

at least come close

so will you star with me?

it will come because

we've heard that

when people drink coffee

they get stuff done

so will you drink the coffee?

some combination

of smoke signals

mental messages

and letters written with lasers

will draw it into our orbit

and that is when I jump to grab it

and maybe it will take me

for a while

but hopefully I can wrestle it down

but you don't have to jump with me

you can just watch

if you'd rather

with your feet on the ground

head straight up

and eyes wide

you'll learn something about prayer

you don't have to risk it all

but will you commit

to at least letting it come?

this is the adventure

you've said you wanted