i decided not to go to india

i tell you i want to go to india

you tell me we need a visa to go there

you are in the bathroom cutting your toenails

i think to myself i want to go to india alone

i can arrange the visas i say

we will require stamps and money you say

okay i say

okay what you say

i can arrange them i say

we get dressed in you sister’s room

we walk up the middle of a road to a party

i can’t find you at the party

but then i find you in the kitchen

talking to two people

one is wearing medieval armour

the other is wearing a pikachu onesie

i say something about india

you look at me for two seconds

and then you say something to pikachu

and the person wearing medieval armour laughs

and takes out a phone

and arranges us in a certain way

and takes a picture

you look so cute you say to pikachu

i wonder what my face looks like now i say to you

you’ll have to speak up you say to me

i leave the party

over the next few days i decide to go to india alone

but i don’t go

instead i go to your house and lie in your bed

and we don’t talk about india for a while

and one day you ask me if i got the visa

and i say i am not going to india

and you say don’t let me hold you back

and i say but i’m not going to india

and i continue saying it until i forget

that i ever wanted to go

This is the second of a three-part series of poems by Oscar Schwartz. The third poem will be posted next Monday. Image from flickr.