Living with Emotionally Broken Legs
By JUSTIN KARCHER
On my way to the Theatre District
& get caught up
trying to bring back the dead
meditating in front of Buffalo Proper
which has recently closed for good
because the owner was deep in debt
everything is passing
before our very eyes
people & places
all that we care about
& I’m figuring out
how to turn myself into a necromancer
a career I’ve never considered
but who really has?
necromancy is something
that’s always needed
the idea of it, what it means
taking what’s long gone
& shining a spotlight on it
hopefully
whatever or whoever it is
starts to sweat again
suddenly I feel a spray of hairspray
against the back of my head
maybe it’s more
maybe it’s a cloud
an atmosphere
floating towards Main St
from Porter Ave
the clamor of young people
finally dancing
after years
of living with emotionally broken legs
maybe parents
are loosening the shackles
or maybe the music
is getting better
kids of all shapes & sizes
every color, orientation & creed
swiveling their hips
& stomping their feet
a televised revolution
playing all the time
in the untelevized parts of ourselves
the parts we’re scared to open up
like sizzling pink flowers
but the garden’s coming
whether you like it or not
so open yourself up
there’s a new universe
just around the corner
it’ll feel good I promise
but maybe not at first
there’s a lot of noise
you need to push through
a lot of pushback
suddenly I hear “Stacy’s Mom”
that overrated song
then before I know it
there’s a 15-person pedal bike
careening off-course towards me
a bunch of drunk moms
screaming “Stacy's mom
has got it goin' on”
at the top of their cul-de-sac lungs
& all I can think is, “This is gonna
be the end of me
well
this makes sense”
right as I was preparing
my descent into hell
I feel another spray of hairspray
on the back of my head
it knocks me to safety
when I look up
it’s a cloud of hairspray
morphing into a blob
I watch as it starts bumping into buildings
but instead of collapsing
the buildings start dancing
an earthquake
for all the right reasons
thousands, maybe millions of people
start pouring out of the windows
but they don’t break anything
when they land on the concrete
they bounce back up
& start dancing too
it’s a goddamn dance party
& for the first time in my life
I want to dance too
& that’s never been the case
I never felt comfortable
voluntarily letting lose
but there’s a first time for everything
having a song you really like
become a jumbo jet
jam-packed with
all the people you love
all the people you’ve lost
landing in your heart
& there’ll be there forever
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