maroon cardigan against brick–
             I fade into the city’s
aging architecture. chameleon
             piled on comedians,
a mountain of forced laughter.
             haven’t found success
outside my tiny town, a steady
             hand to click a shutter
to capture a memory, as bland
             as they were, just few
in the crowd staring vacantly
             at nervous laughter
that filled small stages, how
             the water glass steady
on the stool began to tremble
             as I lifted it to drink,
how thirsty one can be for a
             reaction, how blank
faces stamp eyelids, present
             still with closed eyes

(originally published in Fleas on the Dog, Spring 2020)