stairwells
raze
the
man
and
woman
share
a
meal
at
a
small
white
table
,
feet
forced
against
their
will
to
go
steady
on
a
slender
step
.
she
tells
him
he's
wasting
his
life
.
he
flings
his
food
at
her
face
.
scrambled
eggs
and
sausage.
she
ascends
a
long
flight
of
stairs
to
end
the
interaction.
he
twists
her
ankle
with
little
more
than
a
thought
.
she
turns
and
bounces
back
the
way
she
came
,
a
human
basketball
deflated
by
indifference
.
. . .
. . .
. . .
the
child
is
too
old
to
be
sitting
in
a
stroller.
when
i
fan
my
fingers
around
the
handlebar,
the
folding
chair
on
wheels
advances
of
its
own
accord
.
i'm
led
to
the
crest
of
this
steel-shielded
hill
.
then
to
a
theme
park
where
disgraced former
rock
stars
sleepwalk
through
songs
they'd
be
happy
never
to
hear
again
.
a
guitarist produces
an
onion
ring
from
the
mineshaft
of
his
mouth
, uneaten.
a
singer
writhes
around
in
a
bumblebee
suit
.
a
drummer
dreams
of
better
times
.
none
of
them
are
happy
here
,
but
they
lack
the
will
to
leave
.
. . .
. . .
. . .
i
follow
my
father
down
a
stagnant
escalator.
aftermath
of
an
undercooked
argument
.
he
marches
into
the
morass
of
an
unfinished
basement
.
i
ask
him
what
he
thinks
i've
done
to
wrong
him
.
he
says
nothing
.
one
leg wobbles
but
refuses
to
buckle.
upstairs
,
hope
steps
out
of
an
unlit
bathroom
wearing
denim overalls
and
the
face
of
a
faded
actress
.
she
waits
for
her
date
to
arrive.
no
knuckles
knead
the
flesh
of
her
front_door
.
years
pass
in
this
fashion.
250705
what's it to you?
who
go
blather
from