YOU CAN GO ANYWHERE

As long as you remain
Here and as long as here
Has atmosphere that fits
Your style like skinny jeans,
Canvas sneakers, and a
Sleek leather jacket that
To you means a movie
Set in the seventies
But to others may say
Something far beyond your
Control, and you are cool
With that, with your being
Comfortable in a place
Shifting beneath your feet
And within bystanders’
Gaze, each signifier
Flying in the breeze like
A freak flag that only you
Know belongs to a freak,
And that is the beauty
Here, the underlying
Understanding you seek,
That we are all in this,
All of us are all in
This venture, adventure,
Adding up to going
Around their chosen speeds
In more or less given
Vehicles more or less
Theirs to move as they see
Fitting into their own movies,
Sets of scenes made up on
Sets of props and backdrops
Yet realer than the word
Verisimilitude,
Even if true, suggests
You can take your next move.

For Tom Verlaine (1949-2023)