My hands shake, indenting the lip of the ceramic cup I'm molding. I swivel and look at the other android artisans on the factory floor, robotic hands ablur ensuring each cup is perfect—and they ... [+]
if you concentrate
hard enough, sometimes
the fourth wall breaks—
fading just a moment
to darkened halls
live audience hanging
onto every word
lips red for stage
your favourite shirt
a scratchy costume
crew adjusting lenses
bright lights, microphones
looming overhead
director sipping coffee
writers angrily squabbling
over words you thought
came from your heart
ersatz onions floating in the pot
a man who only pretends
to love you; a stranger's
thoughts in your mind
distracted by
iPhone buzzing
against your/their thigh—
then back
in the privacy
of your little kitchen
nothing in your pocket
heartbroken husband
grasping for words
walls all around.
hard enough, sometimes
the fourth wall breaks—
fading just a moment
to darkened halls
live audience hanging
onto every word
lips red for stage
your favourite shirt
a scratchy costume
crew adjusting lenses
bright lights, microphones
looming overhead
director sipping coffee
writers angrily squabbling
over words you thought
came from your heart
ersatz onions floating in the pot
a man who only pretends
to love you; a stranger's
thoughts in your mind
distracted by
iPhone buzzing
against your/their thigh—
then back
in the privacy
of your little kitchen
nothing in your pocket
heartbroken husband
grasping for words
walls all around.