Joshua Keiter

The lines on my face
used to be from my pillows
now they are from masks

(After seeing Knives Out)

From the balcony
you get a better picture
of the whole landscape

in so many words:
My house, my rules, my coffee!
Then you shut the door

on ridiculous
characters who knew their time
was up—so get out

and let’s get down to business

We are fresh out of
an abundance of caution
so might we suggest

rather than regret
look at it another way
you won’t have to be

cautious anymore
since the only prevention
willful ignorance

got us this far already

As a reminder
we will still be doing things
even though no one

thinks this is normal
as half of the continent
goes through what we did

just a month ago—
we’re smiling under our masks
the official line

really we’re sweating
and hoping for a respite
maybe catch our breath

it might be the last
breath we’ll be able to take
before we get back

to pretending that
we’re in control of all this
when reality

keeps insisting otherwise

What age are we in?
Is it going faster yet?
Will there be bagels?

Have we passed the point?
Are we turning the corner?
Reached the pinochle?

What can we do now?
Why are these fireworks a thing?
A much bigger thing?

Have you been outdoors?
Is it hotter or just me?
Climate change still on?

Has it been a blip?
A sharp turn out of nowhere?
A realignment?

Renegotiate?
Are monuments still falling?
People in the street?

Seems quiet out here?
No one knows what happens next?
There isn’t a plan?

Are you kidding me?

We can figure out
each other’s stories by just
our proximity

when that is taken
out of the equation we
use other aspects

to rationalize
our artificial distance
but that’s all it is

we are all part of
each other’s stories even
the part where we drop

just barely out of the frame

It should take more than
a ramp or glass of water
to be president

yet we’re where we are
and we keep getting stuck in
empty arenas

being told they’re full
but yawns and threat of disease
can’t keep us away

this shitshow makes good TV

History happened
even if you haven’t heard
there’s still time to learn

You might benefit
unknown unseen unstated
from your ignorance

That is no excuse
for avoiding this judgment—
As James Baldwin said:

Most people are not
in action worth very much
yet every human

unprecedented
is a miracle—treat them
as such but protect

against disasters
they all incontestably,
alas, have become

Reading words I wrote
just over a year ago
reminds me of time

not moving forward
but bending over backward
to say I’m not done—

things still to forget
even articulated
memorialized

carved into a stone
you haven’t visited—yet
waits for you alone

whispering in the darkness