bill dellinger cross country invitational twenty twenty five

i’ve made
my problems everyone
else’s. the woman
at the store; i
am depressed, i need
you to help me. ok,
she replies. have
you tried this? this
always helps me. ok,
you say. no. i
have not tried
this. though
you have, already
you have. thank
you, you say.

do you wake
with music in your
ear?, they ask.
the leather coat,
the buckle. the paper
cup is full of plastic,
you know. suffused
with plastic. coated
with plastic.
impregnated with plastic.

paper cup in
plastic’d hand;
affirmations to
make the day
palatable, aphorisms
to make common
again
the commonality of
our ground.

under hoarse orange
inconsistence of electric
light, evidence
of birds.
on the ground,
in depthless pools,
evidence
of birds.