Though We Fell Short

Though we fell short,
the failure is mine
not yours.

A chapbook.

Written between 08.25.08 – 12.15.08



To participate in spectacle. A means of sustaining a past way of life. You have
become the Dow to my Jones. The exchange value of self. How many decaf
americano's is your television worth. How to depreciate in value. How many
words are too many. The radio paying Bruce Springsteen to keep order. Main-
tain boarder lines. The American dream sitting five rows back at a high school
football game. The next US president throwing up in a urinal. May have gotten
too high. May be willing to lead into a war. Simply a cell phone call away. Tell
the black boy my drink is getting cold.

To drive cars, which used to be cars. Are still cars if you want them
to be. Please don't look at me in the eyes. I want my vote to be cast
in shame. I think I want my vote to be counted. I'm sorry. This isn't
about us, it's about me. At the top of the US Steel building, I placed
a decal. It promised change. Yes we can. I'm sure you've spotted
it already. It has been noted that no change is still change. There's
a women in a rich neighborhood with a handbag that reads "I used
to be a (plastic) bottle." I used to think better of you. You've changed

In the suburbs. Men stand, naked, before the land they own.
To own land. To inform the women of her place. He exposes
himself to his home. Envious of the chimney. Open door sending
new life to walnut street. He punches the aluminum siding. Leaves
the indentation of a fist. Is beautiful.


A mobile phone is a device used to tether beings to being. Mobile or not
we're still landlocked. When the black man was president my mother
refused to answer her telephone for the first time in 22 years. Phones
have been tapped. Dropping gas prices correlating to the number
of land lines still in use. Small town America is landlocked.
The bigger picture was on sale. The more I buy the more things
will stay the same. I want to remain landlocked. We're receiving
satellite feed. You're getting closer. The distance between us is digital.
Your phone is an ipod is a typewriter. Text me. Come over. Can you
hear me now? Good.

Distributing wealth. Hands meeting minds working. The new economic plan.
Sound of change dropping in a beggars cup. Is there a new way of hearing.
Sound of men jumping. The purge of a great city. Dust bowls. A way of
cleansing. A way of creating a new country. Remind me how to save the
file as a ring tone. Can I buy you a drink? A new national voice.

I hold my breath as my father holds his breath as Dale Earnhardt re enters the atmosphere.
In subtle adolescent lust my yawn has rounded second base. After leaving the ATM I peer
around the corner. I don't want you to know where my money comes from. I seem to have
misplaced my bus pass. No, the walk will do me good. He was a black man, average height
for a black man, he attacked me because it was dark. On CNN, a woman carved a zero into
her face. She need a change. Unless you go quietly we will be forced to call security.
The mayors office has issued a citation. The American people will no longer sit by idly and
accept our dependence on foreign recycling. When your plane didn't arrive I assumed a rerun.
There has yet to be an interesting piece of fiction written regarding 9/11/ How long until the video store begins to categorize dramas as comedies. How long do I have to sit like this?