Somebody Else Sold the World

& before I knew it, the violet skyflagged with the sun’s violentdemands: for magnolias in bloom,for natural light, anyplace withoutlocks or doors. Different kindsof masks for being & breathing.The antagonists with their vanitytans sang the usual jingles aboutliberties & wars while we buttoned upour confinement & dreamed abouthugs. We talked about was & when& the antagonists got morein their doubletalk when we missedour friends & dentist appointments.Molars fell out without breathable air.Hair forgot its natural colors withoutthe testimony of crowded intersections& barbeques. Words lost their familyrecipes. Friends lost their words,then lost their parents. A few foundlove somehow in the gerrymanderedgrocery lines & farmer’s fieldsupturned with their own unsellablevegetables. The antagonists corneredthe ensuing curfew, fabricatingarguments & armed to the teeth.No masks, blinking phones whereears should have been. The airaround us was so ripe, it might havebroken in half if we could touch it.