By Misti Velvet Rainwater
Date: 8 November 1999

Population Not Worth Counting

if i were in Austin
my insomnia
could lead me
down Fascination Street
and i wouldn't
be alone
i could find
home sweet home
away from home
in the coffee houses
taverns
bars
dance clubs
i could get a job
in a topless bar
and sleep all day
i could hang out
with fellow freaks
and dreamers
hit the poetry scene
and smash
pretty illusions
i could buy
my groceries
at 4 a.m.
i could get
my hair done
by bisexual geniuses
who could introduce me
to their aspiring
filmmaker friends
i could go to parties
and smoke pot
with likeminded fools
who tell the American Dream
to go fuck itself
while they work
for minimum wage
five days a week
and dig their fingernails
into strange flesh
every chance they get
if i were in Austin
i could make friends
with the homeless people
and bust clouds
in the park
i could feed
my addictions
buy a new wig
every week
and parade myself
through the time stream
and scream my vitality
to a captive audience
of zombies
and you would
fade away
like a bad sunset
and i wouldn't care
whether or not
you call or e-mail me back
but stuck in this
one horse town
masochism is
my only
choice.