Crush the Sweater

The zipper remains an imperfect contraption
However many decades after its invention.
Every day I try to outwit the world.
Every day the world outwits me.
That's the message, that's the part
Of this art form that's enlightening.

The zipper remains an imperfect contraption
However many decades after its invention.
The human obsession with fashioning fastenings
Of like and unlike, holy and unholy things
Is ancient and intrinsic. One of us
Can't get a button holed, another one dies.

The zipper remains an imperfect contraption
However many decades after its invention.
We stitch, thread, weave, velcro, and nail
The bits and pieces of our coverings
And shelters together. We're good,
But we always get caught on one thing,

One infinitely recurring thing, which is
That we want to get out of it as easily
As we got in, while still guaranteeing we remain
Securely within it forever. It breaks.
The zipper remains an imperfect contraption
However many decades after its invention.