ghosts - falling

i.

tall buildings butt against each other and form viaducts through which the wind may quickly pass. this naturally occurring phenomenon affects people in many ways. for instance, people walking among these conduits must speak louder one another while trapt in its confines. the claustrophobic rooms we call streets are outside but far from open, creating a stifling ground-level sewer upon which pedestrians, pigeons, automobiles, and lesser vermin flourish. the subways, sewer systems, and other networks of underground tunnels beneath their feet give a certain sense that we are not, in fact, on planet earth, but, instead, somewhere above it (not quite figuritively, though some naysayers would disagree.)

ii.

chicago. again. longest three weeks of my life, largely unemployed. boredom, spending money. living in a world of fractions, careful not to spend all my money, only fractions of a small wealth. always spending, always eating.

matching descriptors for the alone: full. fullness. no hope. a consummation of greed. too many strangers. always tired and stressed. the damn need to work a whole lot more. eccentricities welling up underneath the pores. no small talk, no epics, either. maligned disinterested, shifting blame for shortcomings. vegetation growing from face and head, shaven clean daily (with razor, standing naked in the bathroom - the stillness of an empty house, no perpetrators, no more disruption).

hollowed out, no ambition: grottoes carved into old, mossy tree stumps. pigeons flocking toward garbage in frenzy. people watching pigeons while waiting for their crosswalk to open. a single lady, yelling hold that bus! as she runs, struggling with a heavy bag and middle age. a bald man helping a single mother carry her child's stroller up a flight of stairs. wondering when the day will come when a stranger will help me.

iii.

i bought new shoes yesterday.
i probably shouldn't have.
i handed the salesman my credit card -
nervously wondering if i would be declined -
he was just smiling.

iv.


a complimentary propaganda matchbook handed out at a corner store with the purchase of filtered cigarettes during the last two decades of the doomed United States empire (Chicago, Illinois, August 2006).

v.


a rare "freedom fry," excavated from dig site 2022 last month. amazing a dead relic could have lasted this long in such pristine condition. verily, our ancestors possessed remarkable embalming fluids and unique preservation techniques.