The girls walking on the avenue talk/
And text, fingers mashing words faster than speech./
Even overtaking thought. The lights on the avenue/
Permit this. Thought is not required /
Past the bookstore./

Thought’s domain starts at the classroom/
And ends at discourse. Our words mash together/
Faster than light or the movement of atoms./
Clarity is culpably sacrificed/
For eloquence./

I’m writing my debate case. I’ll spread it/
Tomorrow, so fast that I’ll think so fast/
That I won’t think at all; an inevitable result/
Of paradox. My opponent will either/

Drone like a bee or a bear or both./
We’ll disagree so fast our minds will grate so fast/
That sparks will fly. Sparks faster than morality./

We’re self defeating. In the bookstore/
I browse through famous paperbacks as girls walk by/
Fingers mashing discourse or concord so fast/
That I lose track of what I’m reading./