The Thing About Things (Demo)

THE THING ABOUT THINGS

i’ve loaned a lot of things
to a lot of friends
like dresses and records and books
and some of the time i never see them again
and in a weird way i think that it works

because the thing about things is they start turning evil
when you start to forget what they’re for
and so if you’re not sure what you did with my sweater
i’ll just have to love you a little bit more

i had a ring it belonged to my grandfather
he was a mason and gay
and he was distant and bitter
for all of my childhood
we never had much to say
he wasn’t the type to give tokens of affection
and so i stole ring when he died
and twenty years on when i lost it at a bar
i thought that’s fine
I DON’T WANT HIM IN MY LIFE

because the thing about things
is that they can start meaning things
nobody actually said
and if he couldn’t make
something mean something for me
i had to make up what it meant

i can carry everything i need
in one collapsing suitcase
i can carry everyone i love
in one phone application
built to maximize the FaceTime
with the friends i’m bent on making
actually i want to be alone
to mourn the loss
of what this cost

i think it’s a poem
and i think it keeps going
and i’ve borrowed and lost lots of things
and three nights ago
in the bar where i lost it
the bartender gave me the ring
and i lie in bed
with my phone in my hand
thinking what can i fix with which app
and i call my grandfather
and he doesn’t answer
and i have to make peace with that fact

because the thing about things
is that they can start meaning things
nobody actually said
and if you’re not allowed
to love people alive
then you learn how to love people dead

the thing about things
is that they can start meaning things
nobody actually said
and if you’re not allowed
to love people alive

then you learn how to love people dead