Monday, January 2, 2023

SCREENING

The way I 
pretend

and pretend

and pretend
not to need you—

even as I 
deplete you—no,

even as I
steal you;

and the way you're 
so pleased to show

nothing to me, 

even while you 
give me much 

more than your money—
it's like

each of us desperately 
needs to exist

in the very same space, 
yet persist 

on our own.

I guess that's what 
they mean 

by a 
malignant growth:

this mutual 
coherence 

which
diminishes us both.