Raging at the driver
In the next lane,
Listening to an
Anger-filled voice
Exhorting hatred and
Violence on the radio,
Arriving at home to
Shout at his wife and kids,
An existence suffocated
By vitriol, fear, unhappiness,
Unresolved issues.
He seeks help.
Just as it seemed impossible that
Something else would happen,
It did. Not wholly unexpected but
Entirely unwelcome, it quickly
Altered everything. Nobody was
Sure what to do but for a lone
Clarion, valiant, triumphant,
Unflappable, ignored by most for
More familiar, mundane hand
Wringing and lamentation.
A lucid dream in a school
Where I didn’t want to be, with
People I didn’t want to know,
Studying at the last minute for a
Test I was unprepared to take,
Trying desperately to enjoy a
Shared second with you.
Tried to talk but kept getting
Interrupted by unwelcome classmates,
Teachers, interlopers unaware,
Visitors arriving unsolicited, another
Instant of closeness interrupted.
A comedy of errors and heightened
Frustration. Perish the moment.
He’s very self-satisfied
About asking disingenuous
Questions designed to
Deflect from the issue at hand,
Spewing fallacious reasoning
Intended to denigrate sincere people
Rather than addressing
What they’re advocating for,
A posture born of insecurity,
Privilege, and a need to dominate
Rather than listen to others’ plight,
Cavalierly dismissing issues,
As long as they don’t affect him.
The giant bird raised its wings and
Began flapping around in a dreadfully
Agitated fashion, scattering all manner
Of papers and sundries across the office.
Dodging the vortex of random projectiles,
Braving the windswept climes,
Bill from Accounting reached the culprit,
Soothingly petted its head, just a bad dream.
I never knew how excruciatingly
Uncomfortable things could get
Until I opened my mouth and let
My inner thoughts take flight.
The ensuing deluge of silence
Underscoring the deep rift
Like a jagged rupture in the
Landscape extending to the
Horizon and falling off the edge
To crash upon unyielding ground.
A person arrived at a wall,
Stared straight at it and said,
“This is a wall.”
Another person arrived at a wall,
Stared straight at it and said,
“I wonder what’s behind this wall.”
A third person arrived at a wall,
Looked to the right, looked to the left,
And walked around it.
On a day much like this or
Any other, he went down to
The laundry room and met the
Love of his life.
She was everything he dreamed of,
He couldn’t believe his good fortune
Until she said something that
Changed him.
Apprehensive, he stepped back,
Unable to make sense of what he’d
Just heard. He replayed the word in
His mind.
A greeting, followed by a smile, was all it
Took to remind him of every hair out of place,
Past failure, pulsing uncertainty,
Step forward, hello.
There are times when my mind goes
Blank.
There are times when my heart goes
Numb.
There are times when my feelings
Hurt.
There are times when my anxieties
Crush.
There are times when my insecurities
Debilitate.
There are times when I consciously
Redirect.
