Government Loan Poem by Uriah Hamilton

Everyone moved down the broken street
with the busted corner lights;
I laughed at the dancing rats
moving cheerfully with confidence
in the soft darkness.

More than ever, I understand invisibility
and have no real desire to see myself
or anyone else;
I'll soon be an old man gazing
at a stranger in the mirror.

A doctor thrashes us violently at birth
until we cough into existence;
Later, our teeth will rattle
as we choke to death on our own spittle.

I had specific words I intended write:
sunlight on auburn hair,
a gentle smile that eases into the moonlight,
friends and wine and an all-night restaurant,
but such words and images have disowned me,
I couldn't buy them with a government loan.