Michael Julius

Carl, wake up Carl

Why must you rest
while the rest go about their days
in dazed and discontinuous play?

Why are you so tired?
Is it late nights? I would suspect
beers, but there is little to suggest it.

That leaves mornings. Perhaps early days of restless
errands. I see those juggled lists and dog-eared calendars.
Book piles browned by a thousand little
fingers.

I was about to ask. Confirm some suspicions
though in fairness I should maintain none - your fatigue
being no business of mine

But then I noticed you drifting off and recognized
our common haze, like two cold teas warming on a wet afternoon.

Huwei, Taiwan 2013

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