No Single Performance Is Quite The Same Poem by Raj Dronamraju

She drinks wine from the box, the bottle holds a candle
She is planning to yell at someone but no one is free at the moment
On a dating website, the phone numbers and intimate photos fly at a dizzying pace

This is her best renovation
The most perfect remaking all factors considered

He fronts a rock band called The Upset Stomachs
He yells a lot in a raw baritone and runs a bar tab he can never quite pay off
Sloppy hobbyists without luck or connections have fun in a comfortable setting

Themselves is their singular identity
The only option, the prime topic of argument - scarcity or limitation

Astrology sign Aries in a down jacket that is not taken off when sitting indoors
Let's cut down on late night bullheaded ambush phone calls
"You have a new message" fills the receiver with dread

And not a moment of a life barely clung to is rehearsed
You haven't been dislodged yet by speed and herky jerky motions

There won't be a single performance questioning what went wrong in their lives
Instead, each unit of living is produced more like an artist than someone working on an assembly line