Architectural Integrity & Aretha Franklin Has Died
Architectural Integrity
My floor could possibly be coming apart
but I’m hanging on for now
& for good reason
Catastrophe should only be used
as the name for a fragrance
that only exists in a fictional universe
One where a person starts every day
with a montage full of clues
I’ve spent the past week
trying to remember any particular moment
from my middle school existence
I’ve got nothing
except a general feeling
that my t-shirts were too big
& the thought that
I should’ve taken every opportunity
to garden with my grandma
Why would you say this is sad
Without anything to look forward to
the world isn’t affected much
It says right here this is blesséd
Aretha Franklin Has Died
Seems impossible
that anybody is able to think about anything else
But I’m being unreasonable
even about myself (eye-roll upon eye-roll)
That’s what the edges of memory are for
Covered in foam
Hoping to be jumped in
though prepared for the inevitable slip & fall
Glory be what makes us love the ground
as much as what floats above it
When I think of dying I think
about where I’d like to be forever
I’ll forgive you for guessing incorrectly
I’m dancing in the kitchen I’m making a meal
for a person I love a song is playing & what a song it is
Oh I wouldn’t mind being here for a long time
Dalton Day is the author of Exit, Pursued (Plays Inverse) and a preschool teacher. He lives in Atlanta, and can be found at 
