Feigned Fluency

They’re talking about trust funds and tax.

I nod when they laugh, a hollow reflex.

My mind is a blur of the things that I lack,

watching the math grow complex.

I don't see the loophole or the offshore gain.

I just see the condensation on my glass,

a perfect wet circle, a temporary stain

on the mahogany where the minutes pass.

I look at the ring and I follow the curve.

It’s easier than admitting the truth.

I’ve spent my whole life losing my nerve

in rooms full of people who wasted their youth.