antagonism

by Joseph McCombs

kenneth died yesterday, or the day before;
i heard this from a buddy's friend who
last saw him around berkeley, thinking he'd
lost weight and nearly asking him how he did it; and
every time i hear a story like that i can only
drive hollow hands at the beast i can't see

because in a country this large
you shouldn't have to die alone

and i know all the while he lived alone,
making himself believe he could
eventually find kinder strangers in a
republican nation whose natives
immerse themselves in holy loathing and
crucifixion of the already-dead,
and i think kenneth's end is just the beginning for me...


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