Knock knock. Who’s there?
Banana. Banana who?
Banana me. Banana you?
What? Who?
It’s me, your wife.
Why didn’t you say so, I wasn’t wearing my hearing aid.
Are you wearing it now?
No thanks, I’ll go later.
Uncomfortable silence, as usual.
To see the world again as a
Child does, full of wonder and
Possibility. Endless fascination and
Joy from the smallest thing and each
New discovery. Uncontained energy and
Excitement. Absence of pretense or
Guile, living in the moment.
Not us, say Mr. and Mrs. Beatdown.
A serious man was asked why he
Rarely laughed. He paused a
Moment and said he had once been
Deeply in love and his heart
Had been broken in such a way that
He could no longer laugh.
A smiling man was asked why he
Laughed all the time. He confided that
He had once loved someone who had
Left him at the altar and laughter
Healed the wound. He also mentioned
That the mother of the bride sneezed during
the ceremony, catapulting her wig into the aisle.
Stress, stress,
Everybody feels it.
Stress, stress,
Everybody hates it.
Stress, stress,
Everybody talks about it.
Stress, stress,
Everybody perpetuates it.
Stress, stress,
A lovely pastime.
Stress, stress,
What else would we talk about?
Stress, stress.
I’m on my phone.
I’m on my phone.
Important as the next.
I’m on my phone.
I’m on my phone.
Furiously feeding my soul.
I’m on my phone.
I’m on my phone.
It will matter someday.
She walked out of my dreams and
Into my van. I did not know her but
She said she was supposed to meet
Me there, preordained happenstance.
Stopping at a dusty convenience store
Purchasing sustenance of dubious merit.
Exchanging pleasantries and searching for
Clarity. Back on the road enjoying the
Wind blowing through our uncertainty.
I call for some help and
Receive a compulsory
Labyrinthine tour through
Rooms I do not wish to visit,
Guided by an artificially polite
Personality promising to
Get me to my destination, and
Culminating with a regrettably
Commonplace, harrowing,
Discouraging push off the cliff
Into limbo. Should I wish to
Ride again, my host will
Cordially welcome me and
Usher me along to continue
Aging with the muzak.
