He should have been a cowboy

The last great romantic-
He was born to be a stereotype

Something we read about in AP literature

Diagrammed,

Discussed

And essentially understood through the use of archetypical symbolism
He should've grown his hair long

Played rock'n'roll

He should’ve died tragically

Young and misunderstood
Someone we read about in the newspapers

Then analyzed in the light of pop culture’s significance

Its numbing influence on America’s youth.

She should’ve been a poet

Weaving words

Wearing
yard sale clothes

Someone whose name we read on flyers tacked to streetlights

Advertisements for coffeehouse readings
Things we never went to

But appreciated from a distance

As peaceful rebellion against conventional wisdom
she should’ve been a gypsy, wandering the streets carelessly,
someone we read about in national geographic

Next to glossy pictures of brightly colored clothes and dirty cheeked
children
someone we viewed as a cause

A romanticized survivor of primal instinct.


But instead
There’s embroidery on her camera case

And duct tape on their chairs

And they cram newspapers under the windowsills of their crumbling
apartment

Keep books in the refrigerator

Because there’re oranges on the shelves

And they rot

Fold into themselves

Decayed.
The whole room smells of overripe fruit
Dead flowers

And they like it that way