archaic

i stare
at the sparkling display,
explicitly decorated with the intent to
suggest. i stare. i wonder at
all the ways they've gone wrong.
we've been programmed to encourage
objectification. we obsess over the
exhibition but deny that we're looking.
i don't know how we became like this.
we make ourselves stand out like
birds in flocks against the sky.
we're taught that we, as humans,
desire other humans. it is in our genes
and it cannot be changed.
some people spread their tail-feathers
and do showy dances. some people
stalk and dive, unseen, from above.
they always leave by twos and they
never wake up alone. they know each other's
bodies but only sometimes remember names.
tonight i'm home by myself again.
i begin to ask myself where i went wrong.