Walking through a
Large room replete with
Cheery people
Trying a bit too hard.
Slow-motion bubble,
A hapless figurine
Trapped in a snow globe,
Swirling storm.
Each smiling face,
Insecure diatribe,
Reminds him of other places
He could be, the dreams
He unwittingly left behind
When he decided to
Follow the safe path to
Boredom, uniformity.
Not sure what to do,
Knowing that it could
Be a catalyst for all
Manner of suffering but
Also morbidly curious.
As usual, an inner struggle
Ensues between giving the
Benefit of the doubt,
Believing in redemption, or
Realizing that some things are
Truly better left unexamined.
Even the best intentions often
Do not turn out well
Because they never have before
And nothing has transpired
To make this time any different.
She endured
So many years
Isolated from
Others, living
An anonymous life
Where no one knew
About her loves,
Her joys, her talents,
Her aspirations.
A single trip to
A distant city
Opens her eyes,
Her heart,
Her ambition to
Live, love, thrive
Out in the light,
Leaving the darkness
Far behind.
At some point it
Becomes an exercise in
Trying not to become jaded,
To avoid thinking that she’s
Seen it all or knows what’s
Happening before she
Takes it in, moving gingerly
To maintain her humanity,
Some connection to what
Really means something.
Not sure what to
Say when the request
Is made, perhaps it
Signals the end of a
Brief relationship,
But most likely just
Reflects two beings
On different paths,
Neither better.
One fine day,
Seemingly out of
Nowhere,
He came into town and,
With a few brief
Words, reminded people
Of what was really
Important in life,
And had every single
Person running home
To make amends or
Hug a loved one,
Help someone in need,
Their better nature
Confirmed.
The stranger vanished
As mysteriously as
He had appeared,
And the people
Went back to doing
What they had
Always done.
It is said that only twenty percent
Of people are able to change an
Undesirable behavior, even when
They experience severely negative or
Life-threatening consequences, and
Eighty percent will continue doing
The same thing until it consumes them,
Unable to change, emphatically
Assuring themselves that things are
Going much better than they are.
Wake before the waning hours
When circumstance no longer humors a
Dream postponed, wish delayed,
Experience avoided somnambulantly.
Like endless afternoons
Flirting with maybes and sometimes.
Occasion just missed.
They handed him his
New lock and combination.
He walked down the long
Hallways searching for
His designated spot,
A lonely number in a
Sea of bodies
Oblivious to
His circumstance.
