from “A Test of Company”
I
small victories small wars
a famous person
played chess in the woods
whatever repeats whatever
input we have a disappearing
that knows how to proceed
local realities made up
exclusively of their own grammar
but only if their grammar
is voluntary
victorious feelings without victory
sam calls our teams are playing
we are getting older can only hope
for a beautiful result
II
activity
is a truth that conveys
no information a local
threat a distant
possibility autoplay
tabs on tabs on tabs
I buy the hat that my bitmoji had
in a threat of forests a savant
of anger a savant of nothing
to be angry about
a hierarchy of satisfactions
the next activity
the best distraction
it’s never too late to stay the same
III
very few things
are not
warnings
cultural
touchstones
parlor
tricks
the body reacts
to what reacts
to it
a sort of
leverage
a kind
of loyalty
Copyright © 2019 by Chris Tonelli. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on September 16, 2019, by the Academy of American Poets.