We Used to Have Parties

The city is a kind welcome

of fire    It's on fire

I tell you         not making sense

in the usual sense of the word sense

but a meteor’s bloom

The bad guys rehearsing

their latest number—

high kicks and all—the good guys watching

videos of unrest in real time

The way you high-fived me

I thought we'd have sex

Such excitement       negates the self

All the cops    standing still

The mask we wear      is assassination  

You're cutting out

From You're Gonna Miss Me When You're Bored (Barrelhouse Books, 2014) by Justin Marks. Copyright © 2014 by Justin Marks. Used with permission of the author.