american idols

Cuba, walking past cement-white resort pools with aging, shiny-toothed european men twittling early-teen girls around their tanned, wretched fingers, like glittery-thin rings toyed with in chuckling bemusement before discarded, unthinking, forgotten.

mobile homes, apartments, slanting gapped farmhouses with top-of-lung yells booming, echoing, screeching out as accusations, cussed rants, stomach turning threats.

knives thrown, punches ducked, bodies picked broken off faded, coarse orange carpets, pulled out, struggling, from underneath overturned sofas.
- - -

we've come a long way ... baby.
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meth labs, pitbulls, the pull on the pipe forever, forever.
iraq, SUV's, the PTA meeting bile spewed as paint-layered hate for the ones fought against.


paper cups, carpool lanes poached, vacation accrual benefits.
- - -

what is beautiful and right and evil shown to us,
given to us,
made for us to believe in, live by, die under.