The Ethics of Panic
A fresh new poem by Evan Commander
The Ethics of Panic
Evan Commander
It's taken so long to know what I want and all
I know is any minute I'll want something else.
At its heart is a culture bastardized by its own
In need of an excuse for having moved back
In with its parents. It wants to stop brushing its
Teeth and say to its boyfriend, If you love me
You won't care. What I want's got a headache
Like Steve Albini. A demand for 100% faith
And the sacrifices of those who love it to
Compensate. It feels too great the pressure
To make up its mind and express a complete
And irrevocable certainty and feel as though
Everyone is listening. They can never do
Enough. Never stop asking for more.
Evan Commander is a curator and artist in New York and Atlanta where he works as co-producer of NewGoodWorld.com. He is the author of the chapbooks A Thing and It’s Ghost (H_NGM_N Books) and Planet Carpet (Forklift Books).