Harrisburg

The sky yawned streaks of clouds; I
settled with my modest luggage on the curb.
Bus-engines growled. I spotted her;
she followed behind me as I went to buy
pretzels. Well, Stephanie, I thought, here
we go again. You’re here, in Harrisburg,
by accident, right? I would’ve noticed by
now if you were going to Penn State. What
is it you’re looking for; an apology? Is it
that hard to accept that I escaped you,
the Cheltenham creeps? An emissary from
Hades; that’s how you appear to me—
domed forehead, deliberate dourness.
You’re not for me to address. Next—

"as if, Adam; as if I had any idea how to handle
you, or us, or what Cheltenham had turned into
by then. You: always special, always different,
always such a fierce disruption against our lives.
Remember— I never liked you much anyway.
There's no room for special people where I
come from. What's special is the order of
who gets placed where when, & why. So, as I
followed you out that stupid door, it's with
no special anything. Philosophy? Where I
come from, its this: where you come from is
who you are, whether you like it or not. You
were lower than us, lower, & still are, you little shit—
& that luggage you had was pretty cheap, wasn't it?"