RETURNED MAIL: A BOOK OF POETRY

Contents

Order the Manuscript

Definitive poem:

23
Commodity

More than to buy and sell
I thirst to be bought and sold.
I hunger for fame.

Fame is not a monument on the square,
A page in a textbook
To be expected in the future –
A solace of a romantic.
In this land of the permanent solstice,
Fame is the main form of mass consumption.
Fame is the main form of mass hunger.

What is the buying of a house in comparison with fame
Letting me in the innumerable houses?

I crave to be an object on display.
The goods for sale.  Utility for distribution.
An item converted from and into money.
Thing on demand.
Along with instant coffee, a substance providing instant
Satisfaction.  An offer creating need.
A commodity on the market –
Designed for a consumer,
My flesh a brand of bread.
By blood a brand of drink.

No, I do not dream to be a prodigy.
I dream to be a product.
'Made-in' for somebodies from scratch, from raw, in a Wild West,
With fabricated identity –
Sorted out, labeled, assigned an item number,
Catalogued, certified for safety, given my price,
Packed in plastic, shipped in boxes.
Imported, exported –
An ocean freight, loaded in and out of
A HQ container,
Inspected by customs,
An inland cargo
On cross-country highways –
Advertised, wholesaled, retailed,
Good till expiration date,
Marked up and marked down,
Discounted,
Sold out.