#poeballantine

"this is America the machine. It works quite well. The people in the machine look a little dazed, however. they have dyed their hair purple. They are covered with jewelry and tattoos. Their children are scattered across the country. They have serious substance-abuse problems. They are working on a historically unparalleled suicide rate. They exhibit about as much joy and innocence as old whores out on the boulevard. But the machine is working very smoothly, thank you."