we all have true stories, like when i tried out for varsity tennis in jeans & docksiders, loved the sport, not the apparel, then there is kevin bacon, degrees of separation, i have exes, true, & yes, they too dated others, so who are my ex-girlfriend’s exes? another true story about tennis, the first guy was #13 in the world, 1991, the second played for amherst, me? i was varsity for three years, (but my real claim to fame was beating craig brown when i was in middle school, he was the washington golf & country club champ, threw his racket 100 feet out of the fenced in court after i pushed him for 40 minutes), but i digress, end the suspense, guy uno, derrick rostagno, you wouldn’t remember him, the other? well maybe, he was kind of a big deal, emphasis on was, preterite, not now alive, & not a good person to the woman i was once with, david foster wallace, he loved tennis too, now that i think of it, we could be in a dumas novel playing canadian doubles, i’d probably lose.
Tag: Clothing
Tiktoker Watches TikTok
stare, keeping staring, so cute, my little wiggle smile, perfect timing with that clothing/music change, they will love me, they do love me, do they? eye roll, you know, that i know, all that rizz in sixteen seconds, i’m going viral, will i go viral? do they care? wait a couple minutes, check how many likes, keep checking, i’m gonna be famous, i’m not obsessed, i’m obsessed.
Seeing Kris Jenner In Capri
warm italian day, capri, summer island, boutique windows reflect back tanned skin and dripping gelato, inside -crimson coral gold rings, linen fabric folded, draped, elegant, expensive, clothes no one wears except on yachts in mediterranean opulence, then there is Kris Jenner, like a native, she belongs on the other side of the glass, her bodyguard in black t-shirt hovering nearby, no one notices, until they do, they, meaning my wife, a quick elbow to my ribs, that’s Kris Jenner, and I should care because I know Khloe, Kim, Scott, versed in keeping up with flat screened family drama, but i’m sweating, ready to sit poolside back at the hotel, yet she, my wife, is feigning interest in the shop where Kris is trying on jewelry, enters to browse, to linger near, and why? as if some scent of fame might rub off on her, as if she really wants that cloistered, sunglasses, hat-wearing life, this goes on for several minutes, until finally, like a hunter, my wife gives up, leaves the tracking of prey to others, who now notice, stare, elbow their partners, as I walk away I can only imagine how this will go on and on, from store to store, as Kris ignores the tourists, buying everything under the sun.
Instagram Influencer
watch me applying tinted serum or wearing snake skin heels, i’m on the gram, insta, & luckily you pause to watch me, because i matter, this matters, my feet, my face, my expensive complexion, i look good, toes covered in dead reptiles, you make me happy with your likes & i make you happy as you ponder buying products to be like me, symbiotic, our relationship, me, wealthy, well-kept, well-dressed, you, trying to keep up, keep trying.
Capri Clothes Drying
Polo Shirt
everyone wanted that
little man swinging
a mallet on
button-down cotton
symbol of money
and conformity, belonging
to the great
american dream, success
on our chest
was everything in
yuppie popped collar
middle school hallways
of my youth
before time passing
and truth telling
consumerism, that word
of excess and
education, realization that
things are just
things
Daniel W. Polk 