For the price of shrimp

For the price of shrimp
Friends lose points
It's a growing concern
They tell me it's not going with me
But the me is elusive
And choices last forever

After promptly attaching ourselves to the head
We drain the supply
Leave some odds and ends
And divvy into groups
This is nature

Only what we know
It seems so obvious
But it is what keeps some of us outsiders
And some stuck in a circle
Until the end

Some are craftier than others
Some don't give a crap
There is no real formula for longevity
Everyone leaves at interesting intervals
Husbands, babies, broken bodies

We're fortunate
They say
They all say
In a never-ending chorus
Much like a theatrical number
Where the ensemble surrounds the ingenue

We're all suffering
For things we've done
For things we have yet to do
For things that have nothing to do with us
But for now there's booze
And boys and girls
To remind us that we're not stuffed deer

Then one by one
With an occasional grouping of two
The migration pattern begins
All save the host who has long since gone
That time was limited
To all they could take
And give
And that is why we call it
The show
--
8.28.07