A T-Shirt Religion

I subscribe

To a t-shirt religion

I live in smalls

And extra smalls

And mediums

That look too large

I live for my dreams

And for the moment

And in the moment

And beyond the stars

And next to the moon

I’m a parachute

In a clear sky

Surviving...

Whatever it is

People survive

Before they put on a t-shirt

Telling the world

That they’re still here

That they beat it
Whatever it is
Or could be

My font is large

And elaborate

And cursive

And block

And big

And bold

And it begs you

To pay attention

To me

I have shirts with cats with sunglasses

I have shirts with pigs drinking coffee

I have donuts in donuts in donuts

A Hall of Mirrors

Made up of frosting

And dough

I have old women swearing

And babies holding hands

I have crocodiles on skateboards

And charities I’ve donated to

And charities I’ve never donated to

I have attire from exes

That work on either sex

And my arms look better

In the ones

That my former lover

Doesn’t know I stole

I have two-dollar plain blue tees

That I wear all the time

And hundred dollar designer blue tees

That sit at the bottom of a drawer

Because I’m too scared to try them on

I bought them

When I wanted to think

I was somebody

Somebody who could afford

To spend all that money

On something so simple

You could replicate it

For less than a buck

I got the two-dollar tee

The day my rent was four months past due

And my creditors were calling

And the only thing I had to eat

Was a box of elbow macaroni

And a half-empty jar of mayo

Or maybe it was half-full

I don’t remember

I have tees that I take to church with me

Church is a retail store

That I go to on Sundays

So I can try on all the smalls

And the extra-smalls

And sometimes the mediums

If I want to feel like

Somebody has their arms around me

Then I walk the streets

In a new tee

That I can’t afford

With my backpack on one shoulder

And an iced tea in my hand

And I feel the way

People do

After they’ve given

Something up

To whatever

god

They believe in

Hopeful and harmonious

Ready to let the sad stuff happen

Because no stain is irremovable

Unless its red wine

And you let it sit for awhile

Halfway above my head

There’s a storm cloud

But because my t-shirt

Only cost me five bucks

I stand and wait

For it to rain

But all that happens is thunder

And a few drops

Of air

I stand

And I wait

And I stand

And change falls out of my pocket

Birds land

On my shoulder

Somewhere a party begins

And a secret is revealed

And just when I think

There’s nothing left to wait for

The rain comes down

And the shirt

Gets a little bit

Smaller