Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park. Two poems combined and rearranged. 

Inside or out—
no difference

Proximity is more important

Facts are not a function
of points or indignation

Besides
I don’t know yet
if it’s going to hurt

Not to mention
I’ve got more pressing matters
to deal with

The farther away
I can stay
the happier I will be

Who cares if the country
has gone to hell
if I’ve got no place to live
nothing to eat
and no chance at getting back up
on the ladder

You may think it’s so easy—
but the tracks are in disrepair
and the driver’s drunk at the controls

To quibble over a shot in the arm
feels unproductive

(2 February 2018)