So much of behavior is counterterrorism,

neglecting the maintenance of proximity in a whirlwind of dread
as forced smiles become ever more grotesque.

Give me excesses, that I might craft them into resplendant simplicity,
and time, to endure the enjoyment of radiant distress.

Intelligence, undervalued because so often superfluous
in our interpersonal relations.

And bypass the consolations of deceit,
a construct of imperfect recollection,
the confusion of limited calculation,
of approximate solution.

Dwell and dwindle in disputed territories.

So much effort exhausted to make memories,
so little time to review them.

The aging brain
stultified by saturation
is inoculated against nostalgia,
as it must be.