and today
i have
experienced
irony
in its
finest form
while she
read aloud
the story
of my life
in words
that were not mine

how she told of prufrock’s pain
in words she ripped straight from my mind
and though he existed years before me
i am the modern modern man

how i exist before my time
and how i hate to talk to girls
and how i dress up to go out
and sit
upon apartment stairs
and how
she said
how squeezing
into a ball
and suffering this pain
would be worth it
in the end
if you would
spend your time with me

and how you sat in your chair
your feet
acrosst the railroads of
my train of thought.

and she said
all those things
about the people
who don’t exist any more
and it made me
think
of you

and i tried
not to move
my eyes
because
they were watering

and i was so
very
aware
of your
presence
next to me
and it was beautiful
that presence
and it was beautiful
and presently

when the lights were on
and my light went off
and she wasn’t there
and you said some words
and so did I
but not as smartly
as you did.