While You're Laying on Your Back

While you’re laying

On your back

I’ll be dancing

While you’re looking up

At nothing
I’ll be in the bathroom

At the Chinese Fantabulous

Acting like it’s twenty years ago

And I’m the prettiest

At the place

Where you used

To take me

I’ll be changing light bulbs

And saying hi

To every guy

Who never left

All the same sweaters

All the same moves

All the best people

Telling me that I can be

As effortless

As I always thought
I was

Breaking my shoes

Throwing them in the trash

Dancing with my bare feet

On the bare floor

With the sticky soda

From six years ago

Still sticking to my soles

I’ll wonder who I think I am

And then I’ll answer

That it doesn’t matter

Because I’m aware

Of how outrageous I’m being

And where else

Should I be?

On my back

Like you

Trying to fall asleep

Too early

Because there’s nothing else

To do?

I used to sleep

Next to a window

That looked out

Onto a main road

And I’d see people

Going by

Always people

Going by

And not one of them me

And me not going by anything

Lights racing up

The ceiling

And horns honking

And sometimes music

In the early, early summer

Music playing

Because our windows

Would be open

And the car windows

On the cars going by

Would be open

And they’d have

Their radios on

And I’d want to be out there

And in those cars

And going somewhere

And not be

Laying on my back
Next to you

I don’t know when

But it got to a point

Where I would have done

Anything

Not to be laying on my back

Next to you

Waiting for something

Anything

To kick in

To kick us

Out of bed

And back

Onto the main road

Not going to some lousy

Chain restaurant

For potstickers

And honey wings

But to somewhere

With people

Who aren’t us

People we can

Talk to

And dance with

And tell stories to

About things

That never happened

I wanted to be

Exciting again

Even though
I never was

I wanted to be

The kind of people

They make movies about

Movies that people watch

To make them

Feel bad about themselves

But they can never have

As much fun

As the people

In the movie

And none of them

Are laying on their back

Wondering

When somebody

Will come lay down

Next to

Them