when my father calls, it's 2am and the house is silent // i'm alone and looking at the mirror opposite the window
there are no streetlights here. it lets the darkness in // and he tells me he just got back from some new-age lecture
this chick from california, she was saying someday // this spiritual curtain is just going to drop
and that someday because of the internet and the cloud // we'll be able to speak telepathically and be totally connected
i half-listen, examining the hickeys i got last night with the near-black eyes he gave me // touching my neck and grasping the phone with his fingers
eventually we exhaust all small talk, like we always do // and then he says what he always does
you know, i'm a disappointment // but you're gonna come to so much more
you're gonna write, or do whatever // and people are gonna know you
i know you look like me, and think like me // but someday you're gonna break outta here just like your mom
my hair is dark in this mirror, my skin his shade of olive // my left and leading hand holds the phone to my ear as he speaks
i'm thinking of 'the chinese curse,' you know // may you live in interesting times'
i'm gonna say and i'm sure you'll agree // i think they're the times you're living in now
i look to myself, my face // my roman nose and abyssal eyes
i open my thumped-red mouth to reply but nothing come // and i see myself blink