sample(d) V: chinatown
chinatown
“F*ck the rules,”
swears this century’s
21st William f*cking Shakespeare
singing about
“Midsummer madness”
As if it wasn’t 11:57 on December 31st
what of summer
what of madness
did we have to sing about
but we sang nonetheless
… for no one else
cruising off the 905
siren sounds whistling light
sports cars speeding on either side
superimposed over the
radio sound
and there’s
… no one else
around
bottle rockets red and chrome
bursting sounds in the distance
like shattered liquor bottles
scattered across night
—marking a
new year
in the sky
above us
while
the road beneath us
rolls into an empty parking lot
the light from inside
the chinese restaurant
spilling in silk-like
sheets across the
dashboard
“We’re on the way,” we lie
… for no one else
needs to know we’re here
chinatown - [the outro]
here — where the words could will time
into broken glass
sparkling
… to be
or not to be
shattered
in vain
here — where nineteen twenty ;) wasn’t too young
or too stupid
a reason
… to be
or not to be
altogether
insane
… I’m probably going to let 19 bleed into 23. As a Capricorn, a new year signifies more than the changing two digits in the calendar date, it means the changing digits in my age. This year, in particular, I’ve turned twenty. You’re twenty (as the infamous tik tok sound finally rings true). I’ve never been good at new year’s resolutions. I’ve always just found myself more reflective during this period. The good and the bad. The grand and the dull. The bold and the boring. I don’t think I’ll ever get over 19 though. The snakeskin remains as it always does —‘til it sheds I’ll remain drenched in that elusive teenage dream, bittersweet and hopeful for the future as I always will be.
Songs Sampled: “Midsummer Madness” by 88rising, “Homemade Dynamite” and “Perfect Places” by Lorde, “New Year’s day” by Taylor Swift, “To be or not to be” soliloquy by William f*cking Shakespeare, and many more.