Signifying nothing

(linebreaks don't work) This is a drunken free write, so my sweet countrymen-judge tenderly of me!

It was tradition at first sight.
Your mom squeezed your nose tight
and shoved teeth in your mouth.
She said freedom of speech
will only chip another tooth.
Don’t lose your thoughts though
If you bend a straightline into a circle
then it will never end.
Or begin.

And what of lent?
I heard the chainsmoker quit coughing,
the phone booths quit ringing,
the widow at the window
stopped looking at other men,
the ghost stomached his significance
and gave up yelling,
stairs caved in,
the idiot who slept on a hammock,
slipped a note under his pillow
and gave up.
Curtains clinked closed.

Corey Barracato