it is without
fanfare the words
at long last
finally escape me
no stories to tell
no dream to transcribe
just the crickets
chirping idiotically
as i search a dumpster
for a packing slip
sifting through
the trash of
yesterday’s success
sinking into the
swamp of today’s
latest failures

a tar pit swallows
me as i stand still
no struggling
against the encroaching
tide of darkness
i wonder if
future generations
will find me
perfectly preserved
and write a thesis
on the ugliest man
from another era
found beneath
the parking lot
of a fast food joint
on the outskirts
of nowhere