Head Pills

Head Pills

---And so we take the little pills.

we try not to concentrate

not to expect anything

---And suddenly

THERE we are

As we call out to each other in recognition

from tall balconies

overlooking the loud, distant spaces

---And the space is moving

strong purple tiles rear up and twist

violent contortions separate me and allow me to see

As if on the front of a slowly turning train---

my life a slide show:

A sour kiss

A clock plunges,

shards of glass and mechanics

puncture a living room

A photograph of my parents

giddy and unaware

of future divisions

So I cry, not for good times,

but for the painfullness of memory

--And i sit at the Table.

little bits of dirt make

sand noises as i turn my mug

---There will be no more head pills tonight

it is enough to drink tea, and be

Melancholy on purpose.

-Ted Mann

Polyphony 1998