Thinking, behaving
In unison,
Each exactly as the other,
No variation,
Awash in uniformity,
Ignoring beauty,
Possibility.
I realized something was
Wrong the moment I saw you,
Though I desperately tried to
Pretend I didn’t know.
So much time and energy
Invested in something so temporary,
A fleeting moment’s peace,
Short-lived reassurance.
Changing direction,
I hope no one recognizes
What’s going on,
When it suddenly collapses.
For a while
It was no longer happening.
They wondered why.
It all returned to
Normal after a while,
Unfortunately.
I chance upon
A much-beloved song
From long ago.
A flood of memories,
Youth, hope, wonder,
Pervasive self-loathing.
Dreams of being loved,
Someday, by someone,
In a different time.
Of course their first
Target is art and the
Humanities, you wouldn’t
Want to have any agitators
Out there who can think
For themselves and question
Authority, you require
Compliant people who will
Take to their pitchforks
To fight for the same
Shady characters who
Gleefully oppress them.
In the middle of
All the noise,
The fake kisses and
Fabricated mirth,
He asks himself
What it’s all about,
This superficial chaos
Punctuated by
Occasional meaning
Mostly ignored.
They all gravitate
Toward identical things,
Secure in their sameness,
Unable to understand
The wonderful diversity
Just beyond their perception,
Content to remain
Where they are.
A group of well-dressed,
Impeccably-coiffed
People relax in a
Posh restaurant,
Enjoying drinks and
Waiting for their order.
A light conversation
Rapidly becomes tense
When someone’s feelings
Are hurt which, in turn,
Causes someone else to
Become incensed, which
Leads to someone else crying
While two others argue
In the corner and someone
Else storms out of the room
On such a fine evening.
There are many occasions
When she wonders whether
What she just did is
What she should have done
And whether it will
In some way reflect poorly
On her decision-making
Ability or will just fade
Into obscurity until,
At some indeterminate time
In the future, it reappears
To remind her of
What she didn’t
Realize at the time.
