Approval Rating By Ryan Quinn Flanagan

Living near a church,
I thought I could do without
the bells at ungodly hours,
but once I moved away
into a quiet place
across town
there was no spontaneous
celebration
when I remembered to flush
the toilet
or checked the mail
or simply walked
across the room.

Without such surprise eruptions
of joy
and celebration,
without those bells and whistles
of affirmation,
my life suddenly felt cheated
and incomplete.

And like a first-term president
I obsessed over my approval
rating.

Until I had to hire prostitutes to stand
in the corner
and clap for me
as I made
dinner.

About Ryan Quinn Flanagan:

Ryan Quinn Flanagan is a Canadian-born author residing in Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada with his wife and many bears that rifle through his garbage.  His work can be found both in print and online in such places as: Evergreen Review, The New York Quarterly, Horror Sleaze Trash, In Between Hangovers, The Dope Fiend Daily, and The Oklahoma Review