The World As It Is

Show Do Tell: A Reading Series & Art Review

You lost your mind in the rain You kicked the taxi You said we’re absolutely over And you’d never forgive me We never carried umbrellas Your angel wings clapped my head I walked alone to Washington Square Where pigeons pecked crumbs of bread We started when folk was hot Everyone with a beard had a deal We met at Treehouse You did the robot to Electric Feel You could hit the high notes I wrote a novel about your hair Our songs could have won it all If the game was fair Lost our minds Trying to describe The world as it is Optimism was a fashion victim In the booze-soaked delirium Girls wore shades and bright shorts They asked what you thought of them It was honest, unpretentious An attempted communication We posted pictures, shared oblivions Got on with our aging Jealousies they come in three Why was it them instead of me? Why did I nail myself to purity? And pretend I was free? Our love was a welcome distraction Like a stray dog at the door Sometimes we were quiet at night In the spaces we could have asked for more Nearly went blind on our quest to find The world as it is I’m New York and neutral You came from San Diego I sing like an open sewer You sound like a descending angel Never would admit I should have Stuck to cycling progressions You were gold, Owed the world Harmonizing my obsessions The rush and thud of life I could have been someone else I could have been a broadcaster Dreaming in a five star hotel Tonight’s game defines a legacy Will you watch the careening colors? As these strong men vie for a prize At the expense of knowing each other Got in a bind inside The world as it is But that was not fate Instead it was you in front of me And when it was good Baby, it was like living in a reverie The smoke rising ‘tween Broome and Allen After knocking down a set in the Map Room Before our parents and two strangers But we celebrated like a bride and groom Maybe the big break Was making peace with failure Maybe success is a fleeting mercy At the whim of a cruel jailer I never wanted to yell at you I never thought it was your fault When I said that terrible thing It was the one lie of mine you bought Lost track of time Looking for a place to hide From the world as it is