Ugly

the cineplex of five small theatres

with small chairs

that swung back and forth

because the screws are a bit loose

closed

a few months ago

at the beginning of the summer

the HR associate 

told us smiling

"a CVS is coming downstairs"

I almost puked

a CVS? to replace

the rooms

where I spent my most intimate

nights in Washington?

where I sat for an hour after 

Habla Con Ella

just crying 

where I walked out of another film

too cheesy to handle?

a CVS will move into that venerable

place in my heart?

Consumer Value Stores now rebranded

as consumer, value, service

I walked passed the building

the door ajar

a construction worker standing there

and I saw their 

re-creation

renovation

the candy case

and popcorn counter

gone

pasty

glue white walls replaced

dark brown walls

walls that held you in

made you feel 

that you were entering the cave

of fantasy

hiding from the world

about to have an adventure

away from the open skies

of outside

but now it was an open

open space

of fluorescent lights

and cheap dry wall

the store front windows

previously hanging the latest

innovations in film

would soon be filled

with over-priced discount toothpaste

and cheap christmas

decorations

today I saw back inside the

movie theatre

and gazing back at me was

a vacuous white hole

soon to be filled

with damaging

preservatives

plastics

and hurried

customers