being shallow

someday i’ll wake up old and broke

in a shady hotel room in a messy bed

in a little town in coastal karnataka maybe

and scratching my belly or my balding head

wonder where all my lovers went

guess i’ll just be shallow till then

someday we’ll have bionic arms

pretty and capable with muscles taut

and supple, and wardrobes full

of alternate bodies that we can flaunt

and strip without any apprehension

i’d rather just be shallow till then

but these days bodies happen to reflect

the long cycle rides and the miles you’ve run

the swims in the sea or their lack thereof

and the hours scraped raw climbing in the sun

and who you are and how your days are spent

so i guess i’ll just be shallow then

someday our concepts and our notions of beauty

will change and maybe my priorities too

and i’ll realize how dumb and how wrong i was

and you can be smug and say you told me so
a different set of prejudices i might someday defend

but i guess i’ll just be shallow till then