Vultures
1
A product can be authentic;
an object cannot.
This presents a problem.
An identity can be authentic;
an experience cannot.
“How was your sleep experience?”
asks Marriott.
Praise or blame
is the only legitimate response.
2
Vultures wheel over Miami.
A sign that appears
day after day
is not a sign.
The library boasts a fine collection
of books written in private
languages.
3
Identity is made
of select experiences.
4
If you are genuinely sick,
the leaves recede
and the flickering holes between them
come forward—
not angels, but
unnamed objects
Source: Poetry (October 2019)