Resolutely, I have indoctrinated myself

Into a world of know, where

Things that were unexplainable have been

Inarticulately explained—

And we didn’t even need a graph to do it.

We don’t need any statistics

And we don’t need any lines on boxes

Printed to exemplify the human condition,

Somehow,

And I don’t even need a magnifying glass to read the fine print.

It doesn’t come with a plastic wrapper filled with screws

And intricately folded paper with second-language English

Scrawled in confused typewrite with computer-aided

Pictures of something that surely wasn’t on

The front of the cardboard-plastic box.

I don’t need a Phillip screw driver or a pack of double A’s.

I don’t need scissors or hot pink duct tape.

I don’t even need a pocket knife.

All I’ve got is what I need—

Twenty-five minutes, half a sandwich, a fourth of a pack of smokes and

Cashier eight’s attention.