A Tall Order

(Pre-script: This poem is best paired with the song "Talk," by Coldplay. Go down to my playlist click it on, then come back and resume reading. I'll wait...)

(...still waiting...)

A Tall Order

when they talk about me,
they aren't talking about me.
when they tell me what to do
they're expressing a wish: how
they want the universe ordered
(as if the universe can be ordered)
like a mix 'n' match menu
at a fast food drive thru, and i
am a side order of soggy french fries.
So let 'em talk about me
in front of me,
behind my back,
or when I'm no where near.
Some things I could never control have always been:
weather,
what you thought about
before you met me,
what you thought about
after you thought you'd met me,
how those things collide inside of you,
spilling out of your mouth
as you talk.
(but when they talk about me,
they never talk.
about.
me.)

10/6/08