Beauty’s neighbor

is ugliness

they meet getting

the mail

they are not opposites

they are not tunneled

connected souls

one in flames

one in shards of ice

they are irritants

different

ships passing

in a nightmare

of annoyances

attention must be paid:

why?

hi,

hi

they bump into each other

in the hall

this is not a strange solid aridity

a modern harmony

two pieces of one puzzle

this is sporadic

this is a coin flip

this is chance

played out by a supercomputer

to the nth degree

all the iterations

of the fettered life

still the wax paper shroud

ugliness wears

the drip of the persistent

flop sweat that falls from

the floppy hat and makes

its way like an ant

underneath the paper

crinkling

that is a louder noise

than beauty’s nonchalant

non-chanting

a quiet purring brimming with focus

they are in the elevator

going up

the button has already

been pressed

many times

the small rising room

gives away

finally

their shared significance

ugliness is a mark made

to pass the time

beauty is time