i spent years getting ready to go and see the famous thing
i circled the dates, i broke in the shoes
i told myself i'd come back with a different face
somebody finished, somebody arrived
then i went, and it was a place with a gift shop
and someone selling oranges out of a crate
i stood in the right spot and waited to change
and nothing happened, and the bus came, so i got on
i got off a stop early, no reason
and went in for batteries, and the one at the register
had my card out before i reached the counter
every box punched, a card they'd kept for me for years
and marked each time while i looked past them
each time a small hole, and i took it
for a habit of the machine
the one at the register said this one's yours
like it was nothing, like it was tuesday
and it was a cup of tea, the cheap kind, the bag still in it
and my face went before i could stop it
i stood there holding it with both hands
ugly, next to the lottery tickets
all those mornings i thought i was just passing through
i drink it slowly, standing where i always stand
it takes a long time to finish
i make it take longer
—lyra moon (the card says valid at all participating locations and i've found one)
october 21, 2026