I’ve Heard...
I was built into this house in 1993, and for some reason I was built with ears. No eyes to see, no mouth to speak, no nose to smell, and no hands to touch. I've head a lot of things in my 20 plus years. Not much else to do but listen. I've heard newlyweds bicker as they adjust to married life. I've heard the cries of an infant, that child's first steps, and the small squeaks of the floorboards as he tried to sneak out of the house when he was less of a child.
I've heard good news and laughter. I've heard bad news and crying. I've heard one sided phone calls with a doctor when the diagnosis was grim. I've heard joy and disbelief when new results showed improvement. I've heard footsteps and voices of those offering their condolences. I've heard boxes being filled and movers carrying out the contents.
I heard nothing for a while. Just silence and occasional ambient noise out beyond my frame. I thought I was destined to sit and wait for nothing, for no one. Until I heard the sounds of a steady stream of people walking in circles within the home. Checking out every nook and cranny. I heard discussions of interest and numbers. A few weeks later I heard other movers bring in new boxes. Along with the boxes came a new family. A family with kids and a dog and a cat. Once again the home is filled and I get to do what I do best: listen.
Fear and Anxiety and Dreams from a Commute
It all melts away. The steering wheel and the car and the road. Life stripped of it's mundane order. The long pointless drive to and from, all amounting to nothing tangible. So much waste - time and energy and effort and mess and garbage - all gone. Fade out then in. Into a beautiful vast horizon. Endless possibilities, limitless happiness. The heart of the dream reality lies behind the towering behemoth that is today. This structure of sticks and mud and brick and mortar and steel that represents progress and an impediment simultaneously. It's a wall that is not only high, but long and has depth. To achieve is to do the impossible, and clear the unclearable.
Our Future Looks Greedy
There's a person who goes by Donald Trump
Who is rich from family and real estate
Donald had it all but felt in a slump
He concocted a plan to seal all our fate
"Riches aren't enough, I need more power!"
And so it began, our new doomsday clock
A golden toupee sets the final hour
Listen to the countdown go tick and tock
This one man's greed set the wheels in motion
A man with no filter allowed to run
Says awful things to cause a commotion
Like "build a wall" and "let's all have a gun"
Greed is one of the seven deadly sins
Worry for us if the greedy man wins
mo·not·o·ny
The days roll on and on. Blending together, I wonder, what is the point? Wake up, work, go to bed; lather, rinse, repeat.
Wake up to my alarm, the same time everyday. Get up to go use the restroom, then brush my teeth, then take a shower. Then it's time to get dressed. Stare at my organized closet of hung up shirts and folded pants, as if choosing a different color or pattern is actually a choice - it is the same uniform every day. Put things on in the following order: underwear, socks, undershirt, button down, pants, belt, and shoes.
Pack my lunch and grab my work bag before heading out the door. Get in my car, turn on the same news radio station, and start my commute. Sit in traffic - it always starts in the same location. Arrive 15 minutes early because if you're early you're on time, and if you're on time you're late. Go to meetings, check off tasks, eat lunch, go to meetings, check off tasks, leave at 5 PM.
Get in my car, turn on same classic rock radio station, and head home. Sit in traffic - it always clears up in the same location. Cook, reheat, or buy dinner. Watch TV on the couch. Think about reading a book instead. Think about going to the gym. Brush my teeth and go to bed. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, all the same.
Nightmare and reality simultaneously. Lather, rinse, repeat.