Things to Do After Arriving at a New Town
[In Response to Ross Sutherland’s
“Things to Do Before You Leave Town”]
Attempt to disseminate everything
you’ve ever wanted
and ever known.
Buy some groceries.
Get the wifi password
and rape the lock
to your new apartment.
Tell Steve you once loved him.
Throw away the graduation goggles,
return tickets,
fragments of the old song
stuck in your head.
Put out the word
that you are ready to let
the spare room
in the corner of your existence.
Do not feel guilty
about stolen library books.
Do not cry flipping through
pixelated memories.
Do not calculate the time difference
between your mind and your heart.
Borrow some sunshine
from the newborn plant
beside the window
and bottle it in your refrigerator.
Serve to guests in winter.
Come mid-day,
start carving your name
in the underbelly
of your office desk
with the pen-knife
of sharp ambition