How exciting my day would be
if I walked around The Observatory
without seeing couples holding hands
reminding me of a love I cannot accept.

How exciting my day would be
if I walked around LASHP
without hearing joy from family picnics
reminding me of a love I am still building.

How exciting my day would be
if I walked around the movies
without smelling buttered popcorn
reminding me of small pleasures I cannot have.

How mundane my day would be
if I didn’t sit on the Gold Line
seeing an elderly couple holding
hands until exiting at Allen.

How mundane my day would be
if I didn’t sit on the Blue Line
hearing Elliot Smith dissociate me
with the simplest drug references.

How mundane my day would be
if I didn’t sit on the orange 105
smelling warm welcoming cigarettes
or a pipe worth a try.

How regrettable my day would be
if I laid on my bathroom floor
with bleeding cuts anywhere
simply to enjoy the pain.

How regrettable my day would be
if I laid on a stiff tattoo chair
for a black out tattoo on my inner arm
simply to enjoy the pain.

How regrettable my day would be
if I laid on a stranger’s satin bed
asking her to slap my face red
simply to enjoy the pain.

Leave your life behind more often;
listen to your brain a little less.

Leave your healthy habits behind more often;
listen to your brain a little less.

Listen to your brain a little less.