Aaron Fagan
Stained Glass
.
I hear people are concerned over questions of happiness.
All day, our new neighbors make noise, reminding me
To continue reducing the things I feel compelled to say.
The couple is miserable about not reaching their goals
As if having them sets a kind of alarm to go on upstream
Where no one is equipped to turn it off, and everyone
Thinks this is a reality show just for them, but it’s about
The neighbors, remember? Their loneliness, not yours.
The way their light is being spent across the green earth,
Not yours. I walked around for an hour trying to come
Up with a better way to break the news to you but every
Word came out of a mouth inside of a mouth. The hand
Is different, this time, but the note we carry is the same.
No one will ask you what this was about when it’s over.
.
Aaron Fagan’s recent work has appeared, or is due to appear, in Bennington Review, Changes Review, Granta, Harper’s, Liberties, The New Republic, and Raritan. His latest collection is Pretty Soon (Pilot Press, London, 2023).
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