Anthony Hawley
EMPIRE VAMPIRE SLIDE SHUFFLE
To begin with we were in love
with penultimate moments
pauses just before the music
picks back up
all our desktop folders
were overflowing
screenshots of remixes
we never finished
because we never wanted
to finish something
bound to be collected
beneath all the irretrievable
endings of where we were
at that moment & who we were
told we had to be
by places like Florida
just before
they disappeared forever
Or to begin with we were in love
with the ineffable beauty
of exercise videos
playing continuously
the supplementary
instructions sweat leg
warmers, practical
guides to navigating
an idea of how to behave
with one another’s bodies
or maybe just the
bodies we were told
we should try to have
by feathered haircuts, aviator
sunglasses and the films
we told people
we never saw but secretly
lorded beneath our trundle beds
Or to begin with we were in love
with the idea that being lit
by dying light was
always best—the moment
just before every disco-
tech & laptop
goes black, a faint
glow reminding us
leopard-print
oligarchs, fog machines
tan lines & saw-
dust actually
dictate our every minute
because admittedly
it’s hard not to fall for
mists, stand-ins &
prosthetic
heads
+
Dear Data
I went to court & was defined by my crimes with you
I went to court & was served a side of
jail time for wishing too much of you
it tasted the same
as my dreams
of wings
In the room outside the eyeless
judge brought me an order
with celery and blue cheese
Eat these he said
dancing a dance
from previous episodes
they will give you
what you long for he said
fuck you I said
son he said
let’s go to
the bathroom
there you will see
as I do
that there’s no telling
your story because
we’ve already published
several
YouTube videos
of your confession
days before
now it’s simply
a matter
of forgetting
who you were
+
In the invisible cities of
invisible
bootleg
tote bags
was all the talk
just a front
for information
easily eclipsed
by autofilled
search engines
was the way
you texted
luv ya luv ya
the you I thought I
knew or were you
trying to have someone
do the forgetting
far quicker
+
Question: What makes you cry more: the end of The Night of the Living Dead or Oscar
Night mishaps?
Question: Does the internet ever sprain its ankle & do I have to dress it?
Question: What would Barbarella do?
Question: Is real estate real?
Question: What would Different Strokes do?
Question: If Lindsey Graham makes it to the same level as Rudy Giuliani at the Pokémon
gym, who would have more luscious bruises and would we for sure have to lick them?
Question: When does Kansas come up for air?
Question: Where’s Cassavetes when you need him?
+
Dear Data
we were huddled
around the radio
all the information
seemed more helpful
than it does now
V-H-S-TAPES, one word, all caps
that’s the password
we were told
would always work
yet here we are
starboard side
of the cruise ship
face down
empty fishbowl
of Red Bull & vodkas
you bought me all the possible
flavors of Kit Kat
but I haven’t yet
found a way to get up
Dear Data
I woke up
in a version
of James Franco
woke up &
next to me
were already
several
James Francos
touching
my eyelashes
whispering
you don’t need
to hide my friend
for I am just
like you
got your body on
my mind & your mind on
my body don’t
tell your mother
that the American television sitcom
Full House was actually a house
without light in it
just look
the proof
was in the book
next to the bed
Ok listen closely
we’re going to do a few
scenes from Almodovar
you be me and I’ll
be me
so we’re both tops
we’ll try them all
& see what fits
please remember
to hit delete after
+
Old me says in every great club
scene there’s at least six
romcoms & adolescent
horror flicks
new me says in every great
movie there’s at least
six club scenes
because without them
we’d never know who dies
from trying too hard
and who is destined
to lead a zombie nation
The Fast & the Furious me wonders about
when you said
your body was
always more yours
than mine was
yours and whether this was already
proof there wasn’t any
future perfect
like should I not
have believed what
was written
across the folded napkins?
Question: Which do you dread most: more future or a town without the internet?
Question: What would Mickey do?
Question: Which is more comforting, a road without light or a light without the color
white?
Question: When does Paw Patrol get here?
Question: Is there a way to fill a lake with men?
Question: Which Game of Thrones character makes you feel more like a waitress at an all-
day buffet at the Tropicana in Atlantic City?
Question: Which Russian on the internet ordered the buffet from you?
+
Dear Wichita
forgive me
I was hot you were not
or I was wet and you were
cold the point is
it wasn’t enough
to keep doing
the same dance
Empire Vampire Slide Shuffle
Empire Vampire Slide Shuffle
you told me
to keep making out with you
it’s ok you said
there’s no one
watching
You told me to sit
wading through
email after email with you
as my acting coach
more emotion you said
feel the anger you said
pretend you said no room
for cream but the cup
wasn’t filled enough
or that you’ve just learned
that your entire family
was made up of a series
of motion-capture
actors paid to
convince you
this isn’t simply
a simulation
it’s got to come
from the heart
of the heart of the
heart of the
country
Picture roadside rest-stops
shower stalls & weigh stations
picture a camouflage crucifix
for free with a stack
of classic rock
CDs Big League
Chew & endless mud
flaps, I know you
have it in you
+
Question: Did you sleep the sleep of melatonin?
Question: Will you dance the dance of end times?
Question: Did you stop to lick the wounds of the impoverished and did you have a chance
to rehearse the exit they planned for you? Did you dress your best for the Legion of
Corvettes carrying us off to the blistering horizon?
Question: Giallo Giallo on the wall who’s the fleshiest of them all?
All our T-shirts say dope
as shit correction
all our T-shirts say
I am the shit correction
all our T-shirts say dumb as
shit correction all our T-shirts say
I’m with
stupid
as shit
Correction all our T-shirts sing
Had me a pawn shop
had me a beach
had me endless thongs
and dayglow treats
had me slots
the whole night long
rode me a bus across
the Jersey Turnpike
with fur and whiskey sours some
+
All the abandoned buildings
are full of vitamins and nervous
ghosts
Question: Is there ever
a way to name
everything what it is?
ANTHONY HAWLEY is a New York-based poet, writer, and interdisciplinary artist. He is the author of two collections of poetry (The Concerto Form and Forget Reading), several chapbooks, and the artist book dear donald… (NoRoutine Books). Recent works have been exhibited by The Guggenheim Museum’s Works & Process series, Residency Unlimited, and Below Grand Gallery.
