agua je beber

so I gave them a chance—
learned a few names;
forgot a few more.
only the basics as of yet:

they are workers and schoolteachers
[not the same thing] I've learned;
they go to college and
fill their brains with shit
[I’m in there]

there are failed artistic ambitions
as always, and those types
are the scariest of them all.
the only ones worse-off
are those who haven't even felt
such ambition, or simply
don't know.

they all have stories to tell
and I haven't had to
sit through even the few
I didn't want to—

but I gave them a chance at last
and some are This way and others are That.
and hey,
if the aliens ever invade,
I'll suddenly remember
that we all need air and warmth
and water to drink,
or scotch,

and at the end of every day
we all need someone to fuck—
hah—isn't that the Truth...