-the indispensable associate-

a windless, vertical rain settles the barbed pollen.

the neighborhood dogs have shut their elongated snouts,

and motor-driven lawnmowers sit gasoline-scented

inside disorderly one-stalls anticipating dryness.

when the coffee’s perked and ready to pour, the illuminated

screen of the high-speed connector seduces, ready to perform

its play in the round.

navigation proceeds across its operating system

opening pathways into everything from bacterial populations

to distant quasars; from cats approaching empty boxes, to dogs

and their bags of tricks, to lonely-heart tales, and instructions

in how to assemble the contraption which arrives disassembled,

each screw individually wrapped in cellophane; all within

the distance of our planetary fingertips.

it's a whacky, disorienting, chaotic, and densely populated space,

especially when one is otherwise alone in a room.