You've Got It Made by Allyn Rosser
Listen, now is not so bad.
At your age I filled myself
with loathing. I slept badly,
had dreams, and wept openly
at the deaths of friends.
Now you don't have to.
Why, I used to have to read
by the glow of my surge protector!
Sure, they charge you for emotions now,
but back then when you had them
they were impossible to trace
even when they were genuine.
They just descended whammo,
unpredictable as flashback.
Sadness or fear would break out
on your face or alter your voice --
your hands trembled. We tried
hypnosis, meditation, even alcohol
to steady ourselves, though it left one
more wobbly and soured the breath.
Everyone was after the same things:
company, comfort, worthiness.
We wanted to save our faces.
Now you get a new one.
I can remember when the pursuit
of happiness was a privilege.
Lord, how we used our elbows!
Rat race, rush hour, quaint phrases now.
Death was still completely irreversible.
That's why we had beauty, capital B.
We had to search for Beauty,
define and redefine and preserve it.
This was anguish, yes, but delicious!
Can you understand that? A perk.
These days whoever opens your heart
is wearing a mask, wielding lasers.
Listen, I once followed a girl
across two whole continents.
When I finally caught up with her,
she turned out to be all wrong for me.
I married her anyway. That's right.
That's how we did things back then.
Now that was beautiful, that love.
She bore me your grandmother,
and in you I can almost see --
ah! Well, now look at you. Art by Otto Kim
Recommended listening: Actually Smiling - Geotic Where I Found You - Future Islands
Links of the Day: Google Fortunetelling Short Film: Siya by Shiv Rohira :) Literary Messenger Bags (I want!) The story of the elusive man who made these fascinating pastel postcards of Calcutta