the clap and toilet seats

I felt bad for not heading out there
to support the band playing that night
but that college bar would've eaten me alive.
Not so much the bar itself
as the man standing behind it
slinging drinks to likewise disillusioned souls.
The Ex Chain of Command would've been implemented;
the Look the one who came after gives
that says it all: "Thanks for letting me bat clean-up."
All because of a Standard Issue Break-Up Haircut
that signaled him right in to make the kill.
Yup, I've made more Assists than Rebounds
in my time.
An accidental team player of sorts.

You said once, though not to me directly, that
you "Read to escape Reality," CAPITALS
being used through my own discretion.
Well, Goddammit, I've filled seven shelves
but that resilient dog is still chasing me.
What's the deal? Stop holding out.
And I finally read 'Tender Buttons'
but the joke had lost its humor.
There's a statute of limitations on that.

It's all about as satisfying
as getting in that list wipe
before it flushes.

Sometimes I run the dryer again just to help me sleep.