ANTHEM OF THE ISLAND-CITIES
against peripheral vision and nightmares
against history, science-fiction and games of chance
against crooked streetlamps and misaligned carpets
against the garbage canister and the dust under the sofa
against the open manhole in the street and the growing crack in the ceiling
against the loose tile in the sidewalk and the dislocated kitchen drawer
against sewage floods in shopping malls and ants on stainless countertops
against runaway cattle in supermarkets and chunks of cartilage in processed meats
against strangers and next-door neighbors
against loud vegetable trucks and against muddy shoes
against construction workers and the housekeeper
against immigrants and slips of rural accents
against writing on walls and against all bodily fluids
against beggars and against boredom
against picnics and loose sand
against sadness and chronic disease
against excessive emotion and paranoia
against electrical black-outs and hair-clogged bathroom drains
against satellite dishes, antennas and visible plumbing
against hairy armpits and dirty dishes
against crowds and open windows
against the toothbrush in the kitchen
against running in museums and animals in lecture halls
against threats to public morality and to the order of nature
against non-vaginal orgasms
against white hair and double-chins
against low resolution and matte finishes
against leaking water trucks and against dew infiltration
against bad weather, coincidence and other unplanned surprises