[10/28/2002 9:45:39 PM | Matt Vincent]

time was a thing

(v. 1)



thank the peaceful

quiet



girl and dog

lying quietly upon cushions

in the top rooms



me here

under the lights

in the cellar pit



hum of machine

as the TV mutely plays



the world's gone to hell

any clarity of mind

must be reckoned

a precious commodity



the renegade markings

of dust covered enigmas

fuels the lives



of innumerable mannequins

sequestered here

invisibly



with me

8 feet beneath the earth

in this carpeted clearing,



drywall abode

cool and dry

as some people can be



glass beings

baring their stripes

ever plainly



attendant only

upon my need

to discern



orchestral movie music

floods

the stairwell



some horrible TV show

playing out

where my sleeping girl rests



the dog's not barking now

and perhaps he won't

for a while



headed toward sleep

he wouldn't settle down tonight

nor do I want to



pausing in typing

I turn to the mute TV

where I learn in bold font:



BUSH HITS THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL



horrible TV shows

can't quell

something



though their volume seeps past me



my roomful

of mannequins

doesn't care