what use is the word love

as a verb

if all you see is inaction

fight or flight/stance is standing in place

going nowhere, now

no, cant gain any traction

even though toes curl down

gripping the ground

anxiously waiting for something to happen

but knowing nothing will.

the callouses get thicker over time

skin to concrete/foot to curb

no one will rub them, it goes too deep

they cease to hurt/become one with the surface

statuesque

you thought you heard something

but it was just a word

it meant nothing. hollow echoes bounce around empty buildings

structures that have been abandoned for more permanent abodes. who occupies them?

no one knows. (no one knows anything. we are all confused. pretending.)

so you stand, stuck, fucked, out of luck

and out of love

strong, cold, stone. world weary and weathered. resolute. choosing to be alone.

what symbols we have chosen for a generation: lonely, perfect, singular sculptures

white marble. reusable solo cups. don’t ever change/don’t ever change.

perhaps encapsulated this way, you will never, ever die.