2.
In a city of overabundance
the sound of sirens
blare at intervals
in response to emergencies
that seem to happen right
on schedule
while unaffected bodies move
and lurch forward
with an unforgiving sense
of urgency
there is never time
to stop or else
the throng will bury
you under their feet
as they walk around
these old streets
where history is everyday
forgotten.

3.
She is sleepless still
in a foreign timezone
where happiness is
but digitally mediated.

4.
Easy enough
to speak the master’s tongue
but failure to mimic
the proper accent
betrays the limits
of habituation. At least
you can always curse
out loud
in a language
you consider your own.

5.
Everything here
is processed
and marked
with an expiration date.
Signifier-symptom
of first world efficiency?
Newness
can only be new
for so long
(All that is solid
melts into air.*)

22 December 2011, London

*Marx & Engels

It’s December. Brrr.