A Particular Reflection of the Novice Anti-Empath

There is a pink-striped
Rebel-Rebel midriff in
a particularly packed car

and a poet’s attention paid
to wing-tips, Jordans, cap-toes,
dirts, stains, splotches, and spills

There is a well-practiced
Me & Bode
plea in a
particularly packed car

and an impressive attention paid
to just about
everything else.

Gumchew Dullard
Knuckled Consolation
Pink Straw Stance
Plastic Lilies
Red Dog Sidesaddle

are all co-conspirators in justification,

chugging past the same homes

old and new.