When the dream offers herself up

like a young virgin

I start to wonder about the catch

What kind of trap

lies

behind those white panty straps?

At the party, I feel alone

but I don’t want to appear that way

so, I talk to somebody

I don’t want to talk to

and by and by

I meet popular people

and their white smiles accept me

while the whole thing

is empty

and I want to go home

to my empty room

and type.

Suddenly, I realize why I write.

I keep getting into these debates with my best friend.

“You write too much,” he said. “You need to focus on your career.”

“Maybe, I’ll make it as a writer.”

“Fat chance. How many times have you been rejected?”

“Thousands.”

“That can’t be good for your self-esteem.”

“In the beginning, it hurt, but now, nothing can stop me.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Perhaps, but everything the world has to offer is empty. If we pursue emptiness, we will gain the whole world.”

“You need to stop reading philosophy. If you talk like that on a first date, she’ll drop you like a rock, and call you Sir Isaac Newton.”