great pretender

"can i take your order?" asked the heavenly host. ticket to the jet stream, blowing coast to coast. the long-stemmed glasses, a movie, and a pleasant dream in midair.

"you gotta tell me quickly, 'cos we're almost there".

so i pointed out of the window at the sky going black.

"kid, YOU'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK".

and i should sure think so.

hold your fire

before your neurons declare a crisis
before your trace Serotonin rises
before you're reading your coffee grounds
and before a pundit can make a sound
and before you're reading your list of vices
perform the simplest exercises

take your place around an open fire