50 People - 32 Poem by Raj Dronamraju

32

You broke your agreement with death
Obsessively collected memorabilia, hung posters of dead pop stars and the like on your bedroom wall
They don't rest; they are kept alive by commerce

Outside in paradise, we buy what they are selling,
It doesn't take much for us to fall into step as lemmings
You are the most typical of lemmings
The dead you love so much have eclipsed you
You've allowed your sun to go into permanent retrograde

Book publishers tell us we must read a dead playwright
And they do this so they can fill their pockets
You could fill your own pockets but first there would have to be a you
The original you, the storybook you, the you that finds a voice not yet claimed

You've often dreamed of someone analyzing your life after you die
Making a career out of analyzing your life
But you are not good enough at anything that would warrant that treatment

32

You broke your agreement with death
Obsessively collected memorabilia, hung posters of dead pop stars and the like on your bedroom wall
They don't rest; they are kept alive by commerce

Outside in paradise, we buy what they are selling,
It doesn't take much for us to fall into step as lemmings
You are the most typical of lemmings
The dead you love so much have eclipsed you
You've allowed your sun to go into permanent retrograde

Book publishers tell us we must read a dead playwright
And they do this so they can fill their pockets
You could fill your own pockets but first there would have to be a you
The original you, the storybook you, the you that finds a voice not yet claimed

You've often dreamed of someone analyzing your life after you die
Making a career out of analyzing your life
But you are not good enough at anything that would warrant that treatment