Absence of Everything

(turn it up!)

so there i was

prepared to settle in

and get down

a decent line or two

you know

chip away at the bullshit well for a bit

the rest of the evening was mine

placing my this to the left

and my that to the right

the little OCD quirks

that make it alright

so with no other pressing matters

i settled down to write

poured a drink

turned up the stereo

(Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti recorded 2)

whipped out my phone

and who should come out?

onto my porch

and pull up a chair

opposite me?

Nothing

that’s who

looked me square in the eye

SQUARE IN THE EYE!

he did

and with a lopsided grin

he pulled a long island iced tea

out of nowhere

took a sip

and said

in a pleasant lopsided grin long island tea supping kind of a drawl

"i know

you know

you’re just making it up

i know

you know

you’re faking McStuff

i know you

you know

we're bound at the hip

i know

you know

smoke, mirrors and jip"

then he went quiet

as he often does

not a sullen silence

more a

wordless moment

or few

sipped his tea he did

then he inhaled

in a bombastic manner

raised a questioning finger

thought better of it

and went back to

the sullenless posture

assumed earlier on in the poem

again

another sip of the tea

but mostly

yeah mostly

he looked at

and he looked through me

like he fuckin knew me

and he knew

i too

was nothing

nothing to give

nothing to take

our illusionary minutes here

elaborate a tad, yes; and fake

nothing to see

nothing to hear

a vacated future sings

songs of nothing to fear

nothing to taste

nothing to feel

and in the heat of the moment

it's the nothing that's real

he doffed his imaginary hat

as he quite often does,

made motions to indicate leaving

drained his iced tea

and left the way nothing does

not a single door

opened

or closed

the evening chilled

he’s still here somewhere...