Copy Which Nearly Finished

“Why have I sought my path with fervent care,
If not to hope to bring my brothers there?”
—Goethe, Faust

“I need a volunteer to ride out
And bring us back some extra men”
—Paper Lace, ‘Billy Don’t Be a Hero’

An irritating fallout from the recommencement of several old parties
walks into a bar. Once there, it orders, though it doesn’t
yet as the loosest eye would see
if it lifted itself out its glass: the man selling DVDs, he’s
wasting time on replicating copy which nearly finished us all, Total Recall, Saving Private
thoughts of the old man looking out the window like they’re guide dogs, the fallout
more subtle than ever as it raises
heart rates hours later like it’s not being invited back again—but who would know that? I’ve stayed for the lock in
to see how matters hesitate over whether it’s too much work, as it works
lazily over the lines in the toilets picking out talent
that could pull itself together too—and apart—to start
to make matters worse for the next army of drinkers, cats
that need walks: I’m unsure if I’ve enjoyed this meet
this very night. I cannot say how it measures its successes, only
hoping there is one. Once
there were a multitude of such gathered and we only closed all the curtains, for have you ever seen
and not heard it happen too quickly? The DVD king feels the thing tingling tonight—feels the watchers
finally suspecting; the inconvenience
of a pile of twisted bodies—collateral already-damaged: it doesn’t matter—
invite yourself in—as we save
the crime of the centuries in a few instances by saying, No,
and yes to the meeting of our conflicts, this one being for that lucky pup: it is turning
comfortably to enter the bar to meet her father, him
who works so hard daily, her body
not needing to rid itself of old tapes: we chase
out DVD thing—buyer; seller—we couldn’t decide
who was who as I watch them getting themselves stuck
through the window purposely: Another slow walker—one sighs
defensively behind a young boy: the buyer
begins to sweat—the fallouts trap me as the seller’s
caught by the party stopping outside now, them sprinting
at it, the order still unclear.