facetious

till further notice
the water fountain is tired of the coins,
of the wishing

it would like a nice break
from thursdays wishing to be hippier, to be fridays,
from sundays, after so much god talk,
deep down regretting being a prelude to work,
being a prelude to monday morning blues
or to people calling in sick to the office

it would like not to hear for a few days
from a good portion of the population,
from the greed of more money,
more toys, more shoes, or more sleeping partners,
from the left hand & its wish for the right hand
to stop pointing the finger in its direction,
for the right to own up
to a sizable, sinkable chunk of the blame,
of the responsibility

the more coins we drop in it,
the more we hope, we bargain before its presence
the dirtier its water becomes,
the more the water fountain turns a deaf ear
& craves for a shower,
rushes for a tourniquet, rushes to be flushed,
wishes for a lever to resort to
like the one the toilet bowl comes along with

the water fountain is sick of being set up to fail,
of not being able to come through,
sick of having to pardon our appearance,
of being used as an accessory, a mirror

narcissus’s name is on its most wanted list

c. a. campos, 2012