everyone present pretends to be yesterday
drinks in hand,
watching the bubbles become ordinary air again
in the other room,
portraits of death stalk the nonbelievers
the people party on
some are witty
some look like cotton where their eyes should be
the universe expands as they sign contracts
a toast is shaken from the atmosphere
“all light is trapezoids! all weather is quality!”
while these words are carrying,
a shadow disappears into someone’s breaking heart
no one seems to care
maybe they are breathing too much to notice
maybe their diets make them slow
maybe they are dreaming of somewhere else
and all of this is just what grows where no one really is
maybe to them this is Life and everything is ignorance while the stars exhale