Romans 8:28

"All things are for your good
And for your better you."
Our pocket watches, like time bombs,
Tick wildly against our chests,
Mimicking the rhythm of our
Caffeine-induced palpitations.
We sit across from one another:
You smoke a cigarette,
And I feel modern with my cigarette-smoking friend
With a side of coffee.
Billboards glare down at us with urgent intent
To make us into a "better you."
You praise the barista.
I praise the sun,
And I praise the cigarette for its thorougly modern look.

If I went looking
For a better you,
I wonder what I'd find.
A few years down the road,
With gray on your hair and under your eyes,
You will say, "Old friend,
Remember the time, and remember the time..."
And I will say, "It changed me, too."
And we will go happy along our ways,
Hand-in-hand with coffee cups.

But now, we wait
For the outside one
To bring it all together for us.
We sit in the sun
(You flirt with the barista, and I smile
As you gently tap your cigarette into the brimming ashtray),
Enjoy our coffee, decaf in a few short years,
And wait for the outside one
To bring it all together.