Infinity, Jewel (part 3)
(for the 4th of July)
sitting at his computer
on the 4th of July
staring through Facebook
at a picture
of the pop star posing
at the bow of the boat
while wearing a bikini
he pretended that he
wasn’t just staring at a picture
he pretended that he was Skyping
with Jewel
she swore that she missed him
and that she’d be home soon
and he told her that he was no Christian Grey
“Enjoy yourself. I’m fine.
It’s not like I’m secretly
plotting to chart a plane
to come find you because
I’m narcissistically needy
and don’t trust you.
Take your time. I’ve got plenty of things
to do around here. I’ll see you when
you get back.
I love you.”
and despite the fact that she looked
almost sunburned, Jewel confessed
that she loved him too
after closing down their Skype connection
or however that works
the man turned from his laptop
and walked over to say hello to the blu ray player
that also played dvd’s
he put in the 30th anniversary edition
of Jaws on its 40th birthday
because he felt like being around people
without all the going-out-hassles
of being around people
watching Jaws was the closest thing
he’d come to hanging out at the beach
in years
and there’s nothing wrong with that!
Jewel isn’t ignoring his phone calls
because he’s never called her, and besides that
she’s real busy
I mean, happy birthday
America!
you’re still fuckable
he thought to himself
before grabbing the most recent copy
of US magazine while wondering
about the environment
and walking upstairs
to take a bath
Multiverse Johnson 