after we'd eaten Big Macs at Mickey D's
after we'd entered a hard hat zone
after we'd picked up smokes at 7-Eleven
after we were born again
after we'd decided to take stock
and reinvent ourselves
after the leasers coasted onto the breakdown lane
with their Support Our Troops magnets
clinging to their backsides
after mysterious lights welled up from the mud
and shortstops stopped short
after the game went into extra innings
after gas guzzlers quit guzzling
and car pools dried up
after kids were bused to school
and school bus drivers recited by heart
lines from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
after kids were busted for just saying YES
after your best friend did a line and died
after the keynoter lost the keys to the Magic Kingdom
after we'd decided to cash in our markers
after migrant workers skipped town
and wait staff took extended coffee breaks
and kept customers waiting
after the days dwindled down to a precious few
after the black cloud went in for a repaint
after porn stars burned their toys
and buffalo soldiers moved to Newark
after the rain
after she lost her crayons
and began coloring with her fingers
after the thrill was gone
after it was once upon a time
after poets left the country trailing lines
more obscure than Fermat's Theorem
after we'd listened to the music of the trees
and translated lines from brother squirrel
after we had finished
after we'd trampled the unsuspecting
after the lights went out
and clowns arrived with an EMT
after we'd taken our second cousin out for a bite to eat
and closed the diner
after we were admitted
after we were committed
after we were convinced
and encouraged
and discouraged
after we were sentenced
after we were cut off
and cut short
after the true meaning continued to elude us
after we'd thought it best to dismantle the pyramids
put away the folding chairs
the prize winning origami displays
the maps of famous battle sites
the flags
after we'd googled the names of the founding fathers
and The Shining
after the seven wonders of the ancient world packed it in
after we'd had a brush with the law
and a tete-a-tete with a door-to-door Fuller brush salesman
after we'd taken up a collection for the victim of a downsize
after we'd taken up with the neighborhood vegan
and started from scratch
after we'd attended a party of the first part
after we'd gone back to square one
and the terrible twos
and Three's Company
and the four seasons
and five days off for good behavior
after the air traffic controller called us mid-flight
after we'd buried the dead
and decided to devote our lives to Magic Squares
after we'd finished the assignment
and the lesson plan
the makeover
the takeover
the book report
the annual report
the remodeling project
after we'd counted the body bags
and the spent shell casings
and the empties
and the atrocities
and the lies
after we'd counted on one another for support
after we'd banged the drum slowly
after we'd thought it was finally over
and the credits began to roll
and the lights were turning up
and the doors were opening
the sun was shining
the fat lady was singing
after
