anything else
RYAN RICKS
when we rode bicycles under blanketing suburban streetlights
when we tucked plastic whisky into elastic summer waistbands
and the red traffic light bloom decorated our bile like Christmas
when we bought two SAT prep books three scantrons four ACT bibles
when we traded our solar system wallpaper for dormitory asbestos
and the entire cafeteria sang 18th birthday nervous breakdowns
when we read Gatsby and labeled Fitzgerald The Best Author Ever
when we donned black suits white shirts suffocating windsor knots
and saw each other cry for the first time at the suicidal kid’s funeral
when we formed basement bands and played Jazzmasters and hi-hats
when we penned confessional high school hallway loner anthems
and spit cornball truths through retainers into rusty old microphones
when we skipped lacrosse practice and failed geometrical proofs
did any of us even begin to realize that it was just like anything else
RYAN RICKS
when we rode bicycles under blanketing suburban streetlights
when we tucked plastic whisky into elastic summer waistbands
and the red traffic light bloom decorated our bile like Christmas
when we bought two SAT prep books three scantrons four ACT bibles
when we traded our solar system wallpaper for dormitory asbestos
and the entire cafeteria sang 18th birthday nervous breakdowns
when we read Gatsby and labeled Fitzgerald The Best Author Ever
when we donned black suits white shirts suffocating windsor knots
and saw each other cry for the first time at the suicidal kid’s funeral
when we formed basement bands and played Jazzmasters and hi-hats
when we penned confessional high school hallway loner anthems
and spit cornball truths through retainers into rusty old microphones
when we skipped lacrosse practice and failed geometrical proofs
did any of us even begin to realize that it was just like anything else