Hyphen in the Middle
Entertain the thought that the distance between life and death may not be as great as you think.
—-
It gets to me, addles my mind.
Pain laces would-be suppressive drugs.
I go walking through the cemetery,
seeking solitude from:
the mental static, tense emotions
and I’m erratic.
As I ponder dead identities,
wondering about the lives
these dirt walls confine.
Classy granite rock. Polished, refined.
There’s a birth date, a date of death
and our entire lives are entwined
in that separating link. That little fucking line.
We are candles in a dark room,
enough heat to burn a night
So we dance and flicker
until we are spent
no more wick in sight
Then we’re just smoke in flight
dissipating as we were meant to.
So why is momma on the street corner, while baby cries at home?
And we communicate through text, cry because we’re alone?
Minimum wage is the new slavery, from which there is no escape.
Sinners seem to win, so why not curse, for Christ’s sake?
So content with our misery, destitute is what we’ll take–
and we take, and take. And take.
We are taught to share, to work within a team.
Tell me– when has equality ever meant equal?
It’s just a fairytale. A childhood dream.
Societal trends polluting what life could really mean,
but in this boneyard it’s so simple:
Life is just the hyphen in between.
Sex sells, disease spreads while money changes hands.
We are unfulfilled potential,
ignoring silent mysteries
that beg us to comprehend.
We start out full of joy,
then we’re miserable trying to turn back
and we began with perfect intent
before we got sidetracked
watching helplessly
as this train somehow ran wrong
off the right track.
We could spend our days in futility
intellects unlocking some divine riddle.
But in the end, will there be a point?
Our lives are just the hyphen in the middle.
(2012)
Originally written for an English course. However, I made this morbid little observation during a cemetery stroll that headstones have a date of birth and death. Our entire lives are encapsulated in that little hyphen in between the two dates.
