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# "Contemporary Views of December" by Mark Cugini
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/contemporary-views-of-december-by-mark-cugini/
- Published: 2014-09-03T16:00:47.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:44:03.000Z
- Description: Our poetry editor, Joe Pan, has selected a poem by Mark Cugini for his series that brings original poetry to the screens of Hyperallergic readers.
- Author: Joe Pan
- Tags: Poetry, Hyperallergic Poetry, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:03 (2014, 2015, part 1)

Our poetry editor, Joe Pan, has selected a poem by Mark Cugini for his [series](http://hyperallergic.com/tag/hyperallergic-poetry/) that brings original poetry to the screens of Hyperallergic readers. For those interested in submitting work for possible publication, email 3–5 poems, with a cover letter, in a single Word document or PDF to poetry \[at\] hyperallergic \[dot\] com.

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![Rationed Water 2013 Hydrophobic coating, tempered glass, water, plastic bottles, fierce apple Gatorade, blueberry-pomegranate Gatorade 58 1/2 x 33 1/2 x 20](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/09/21-1.jpg)

The Jogging, “Rationed Water” (2013), hydrophobic coating, tempered glass, water, plastic bottles, fierce apple Gatorade, blueberry-pomegranate Gatorade, 58 1/2 x 33 1/2 x 20 (image via The Still House Group)

## Contemporary Views of December

*for L&T*

When I’m feeling revolutionary,  
I don’t read poetry—I go antiquing.  
That’s that new shit, I call it *The A-* 
*political Kitsch*, it utterly ignores  
the contextual clues behind every  
classist comma splice, hear what I  
did there, me neither. I get to a point  
in every chunk of text where I wish  
I was doing anything but texting and  
right now is about that time. O dear reader,  
do us all a favor and update your Amazon  
Wish List. Reorganize all of your porn by percentage  
of genuine orgasms. Find/replace “duende”  
with “Dutty Wine.” We’d all be better off  
if we were getting better off’ed. You won’t taste  
the Bubble Tape of your apocalypse unless you  
first contradict the end of this here beautiful fear,  
so hogtie yourself to a bedpost until you’re coming  
with the clouds. Build a Lego village out of all  
your credit card debt. Spill Gatorade between  
those pegs and call me a neon river. Ride your bike out  
past the plastic brick overpass until your high-  
fructose-laced amino acids are painting you in a new-  
ass neon. Saturate that shit until we can’t see  
the edges. Trust me, I knew nothing  
and you can nothing, too.

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Mark Cugini is the author of *I’m Just Happy To Be Here* (Ink Press 2014) and the Managing Editor of Big Lucks Books. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in *Pinwheel*, *Sink Review*, *Hobart*, *Barrelhouse*, *BOAAT*, and numerous other publications. On July 20th, 2014, he became the #1 ranked player of *Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.*