Misspent potential of the totally free
           weekend. It’s more taxing & excessive
than we’d counted on, to imbue vacant air
           with vacant vocabulary, stammering
streaming reflections of self-absorbed
           self-consciousness, guttural,
though one way through inertia, the way
           a river carves bedrock, its current will
remain steadfast punctual even when
           sinking into utter darkness underground.

The lover who follows another loves delusion
           like a swimmer seeks immersion;
nonstop competition of reality versus reverie
           which is love defeating reason and agency
the daze accumulating as heat creates heat
           —this second overlaps this second—
so each year wears out that sheer delay
           won’t disrupt decay’s eternal yearn …
we wake every uneven day alarmed, settled
           between banks in prohibitive poverty.