Stenographer

Never mind where I was.

It was like 4:45

and the bartender had great hair.

I was breaking apart, taking notes.

I had to stand at the very end

and wave at her for my drinks.

Reading VALIS

by candlelight

I felt like Buddha

losing my mind in a back room

or stenographer women

who type in courthouses

while everyone rages around them—it’s a life

of listening to and typing

sentences

said by other people,

and right now

it seems like no one in this place

wants to mean anything,

which is okay.

In my head I’m saying

in 300+ words,

I’m afraid and very hopeful.