invention

your invention
stalls
on the patent process.
seems
other people have thought
of similar ideas.
they want a more detailed
sketch,
a stripe of uniqueness
varying
from the rest.
what makes yours
different, they ask.
they being bottled glasses
lawyers
sitting in dark
rooms eating
white bread sandwiches
with the crust cut off.
so you tweak and bend,
twist
what you have into something
more using
the black magic marker,
the ruler. you draw
your crude sketch
and write block printed words
above and below.
bold arrows point to your
weak changes.
then you send it in.
it's not like you're
inventing the wheel, or
fire,
or even a pet rock or a stick
of gum. it's just this thing.
this thing.