after years of struggle I found the secret
for happiness is to have low expectations.
I wake up each morning only wanting to make it through the day.
it does not matter if I have a bad day
as long as I am standing at the end of the day.
my expectations are so low I don’t
even know a bad day from a good day anymore.
soulless academic poetry no longer pains me.
I expect an intellectual wasteland
from poets who have never lived outside of books
and they never disappoint.
American education no longer disturbs me.
I expect graduates not to be creative or independent thinkers
and they never go against the tide.
I anticipate exceptional women I am with
to gradually change until I no longer recognize them
so even when I still love them I no longer
deeply mourn the end of a relationship.
the only thing that troubles me anymore
is that nothing troubles me anymore.