i’m watching coworkers
co-living with monotony,

they’re married to it. 
newlyweds dead by thirty,
they die early.

this is why
i spent time studying

in high school
i mastered the subject, 
practiced paragraphs
not pythagorean, 

during college
i played the game,
wet behind my ears
with railroad eyes,

because i knew.

when the world withers
you are left full
of four letter memories,
whether that be shit or love
is a choice.