She presses down on the toaster
Then rushes to toss the salad
The toaster clicks
And she switches to broiling the cheese
Before the cheese begins to droop, she’s already started on the smoothie
It feels great to be productive
It’s efficient
It’s easy
It’s oddly satisfying to complete a to do
It’s a flow — a lost robotic flow fueled by neurotransmitters and habit
Before long, her hair grows silver and her bones ache
The persistent marathon sprinting has left her kneecaps shot
The heat from the furnace burnt at both ends has left her skin blotched and beaten
Debilitated into retirement, she sits there — finally completing all she needed to complete
Now she can enjoy
But she can’t enjoy
It’s a banal addiction
For Further Reading…
- On the Gap between up & down, check out my visual poem Down Here
- On Freedom, check out my visual poem Wilmington Free
- On Art as a vehicle for exploring authentic values, check out Art Art Art
