Tristan Robert Lange

Apparatus Askew

Was I ever in the know?
Did my feelings ever show?

Were my eyes red like blood?

Did their arid cracks flood?

Was I there biting my nails?

Was I spinning off the rails?

Did I deny I ever cried?

Did I act like you never lied?

Did I sacrifice my own heart—

No more beating—blown apart?

But that was never enough—

It became impossibly tough

To keep walking in single file,

To even care to run one mile

For an apparatus at its core,

A clanking cog-court, making more.

Let that tidbit settle the score—

And, no matter how you implore—

Your presence is such a goddamn bore.

Take your leave—you know the door.

First published on tristanrobertlange.com, April 23, 2026.

Tittu