Big Change

High school summer vacation
On heavy rotation
It spills through broken PA speakers
We are all older now
And the same things get us going
At least I can admit it
The best years of our lives
Were spent in some stranger’s basement
Medley made of empty cans and exes
And that radical romantic conversation
About how we are like mutants
Who found each other by chance through rock n roll music
Clenched fist, eyes wild
Scream over the records, you artfully compiled
While I put my bad faith into practice
Sit at home on Saturday night
Ease into my false sense of superiority
No art degree, no conservatory
Just Katie and me
And whatever we are drinking
To diminish our diplomacy
If you can’t appreciate the art
Appreciate the air conditioning
High school dance with me baby
I gave it all up
Baby, I slipped away before your grasp was too tight
We’re both older now
But you still let the music determine how you feel
Any given night
Watch you sway in your dress, say, «I'm ruining your life.»
And say, «You are not like the others
You’ll practice, you’ll change
Unlearn a toxic pattern with zero effort made.»
Well I haggled and for just a moment
It’s a beautiful idea
But hopelessness brings consistency
And the disappointment, it isn’t surprising
So never swoon
You sing songs to clean your fingernails to
And your letters read and write and seek out the guillotine