Flâneur
By Ben Fama
Fashion makes me less crazy
It should be looked at
Never discussed
It's an honest joy
To be shocked by beauty
In the 21st century
I was shocked when my lover was caught stealing
From Dean and DeLuca
I was thinking of a line
By Robert Hass
The floor manager stopped us
We simply went to a different store
Poetry
A requiem for leisure, pleasure, thought
I cannot take your high school friend's
Hoop earrings seriously
And every picture on my phone is obscene
Look at it
All these effetes
Boring travel stories
Details of somebody's dreams
Champagne condensating
On leather seats
All summer long
I wish I could afford a room
At the Peninsula New York
Suites with TVs above soaking tubs
with city views
And all that sun on Fifth Ave.
I live inside it too
I am at Uniqlo
Buying underwear
And after I paid
I stayed and shopped again
A surprising second erection
After you've just finished
And you know it's time
Copyright Credit: Ben Fama, "Flaneur" from Fantasy. Copyright © 2015 by Ben Fama. Reprinted by permission of Ugly Duckling Presse.
Source: Fantasy (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2015)