i'd imagine the umbrella industry to be sustainable. people buy umbrellas. often.

umbrellas are not built to last.
with rain, often comes wind, and they tend to flip inside out or blow away and get run over by cars and buses and skateboards and horses.

owners of umbrellas are also bound to put down their wet umbrella and forget it in music venues and restaurants and barber shops and at their therapist's office. (but how many crazy people to you know that actually own an umbrella? i mean, really? think about it.)



i'm going to invent an indestructible umbrella.

but then my business would go under once every person in the world bought one.

catch-22.

perhaps i'll make the umbrella disintegrate after 2 years. 2 years seems like a fantastic life expectancy of an indestructible umbrella. the people would really go for this idea. i bet you the average person purchases at least 2 umbrellas a year.

i say this because i have purchased 3 umbrellas this year.
and i've also "borrowed" one and forgot to give it back.

i bet there are a lot of unknowing umbrella thieves out there.



i can't be the only one.

Soulsavers - You Will Miss Me When I Burn (Razzmatazz 2, Barcelona, 19-1...

haldun's in town for a few days
coming from philly
from san antonio
from spain, turkey, paris.

it's been 11 years.

got me high while he cooked me dinner.

Woke up at 4:37
Illuminated my phone for the time.

Turned it off
Turned over
And
It lit up on its own.

Sleepless.

fleeting memories of a sun dressed 1982 volvo
sitting in saturday traffic on the south shore.

wearing sunglasses from 1965
and
a smile.

friend requests from south dakota
tattooed to my elbow
in the shape of a park bench
overrun by meth heads
and
love.

text messages about shoulders
and
chicken pickles
and
fear.

i walk into a cloud of smoke
and out of my parent's living room.

i take shallow breathes
and
choke back the warm tears
that have become misplaced in my throat.

the air conditioner hums
a song about fake comfort.
while
i dream about being back in a tent
on agnes island.
with the bugs.
the rain.
the dead cellphone.
the escape.


i sweat through a poetry reading
ignoring a crazy woman with pink hair
to face everything i've ever wanted
in
the
wide
world.