if I listen to punk music
I can do 20 push-ups
it's the best I can do
to beat the time
between zero and 21
the ringing in my head
the dots against my lids
(one in the middle
vibrating)
and the hippy upstairs
practicing his guitar
and the drunks in the parking lot
smashing bottles into the dumpster
the rhythm in my fingertips
the pull of a loose toenail
against the bedspread
listening to my beard grow