Cortney Cassidy

I LOST TO CAPITALISM A LONG TIME AGO

i suggested cheeseburgers and donuts for lunch
but everyone said no
they are all very
positive and relatively happy
and go on “very relaxing” vacations

while i casually mention things like
toxic shock syndrome and silence is violence
when my manager told me i should voice my
opinions more

i unfocus my eyes so they no longer look
at anything and just sit in their sockets
until my computer screen is a blur
and my hands rest still on the keyboard
i stay this way for about five minutes at a time

i wish i was at home being sad instead
of proving myself in the world
because i’m trapped in a career
and i can’t pay for my education with depression

i should have stayed where i was
driving really fast in the desert while listening to
the faint

A MAN ON THE TRAIN

a man on the train asked me what book i was reading
then if i was a feminist
then if i hated all men
then told me to enjoy my book

Cortney Cassidy is a designer and writer in Oakland and has self-published three collections of poetry: Internet (2014), Girl Problems (2015), and who am i and who cares (2017).
website: cortn.net

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