Buzzed

Don’t feel right. Straight life. Bad reception. Between channels. Ghost voices. Static. Rude. Overlapping. Interrupting. Overstepping. Agitated. Manic. Bored. Banal. Repeat. Inner city blues. Make me wanna holler. Engine revving. Leash taut. Straining. Barking. Whining. Trapped. Trained to serve. Obedient. Docile. Willing. Conditioned. Life on a calendar. In-person. Virtual. Canceled. Distracted. First world problem. Over-active. Speak. Sit. Treat. Malign. Compete. Forfeit. Deep breath. Too old to care. No breath. Choking. Blurred light. Birds. Always birds. Demanding. Displaying. Dismaying. Above. Below. Lost. Out of bounds. Wander into park. Past convention. Swaying breeze. Pine needles. Trash. Children playing. Excited. Screaming. Bodies too small. Need to explode. Slope. Recline. Relax. Cocooned. Protected. Perfected. Begin. Repair. Restore. Construction so far away. Giant machines fixing what’s broke for twenty years now. Concrete. Precise. Delicate. Empty fountain. Muffled voices. Low thrum. Behind. Startled. Pooch bashes through trees. Across grass. Under elm. Bolts over hill. Person pleading. Angry. Yelling. Fading. Sigh, gotta think like a dog. Branches murmur. Warmth. Long journey across empty space. Blast and seep. Breath. Slow. Stately. Dignified. Separate body from spirit. Integrate spirit into body. Actually, doesn’t really matter. Cease to care. Muscles loosen inside expanding sheathes. Mind quiets under tangled hair. Ancestors. Smiling. Watching. Waiting. Spector. Smiling. Watching. Waiting. Too. No rush. All we’ve got is time. Sits down. Crosses legs. Smooths fabric. Speaks. Genteel voice. Refined manner. There’s time. There’s always time. Three minutes. Three hours. Three days. Three years. Three centuries. Doesn’t matter to me. Laugh. Pleasant. Kind. Catalyst. Look into wonder. Awed into silence. Melt into ground. Drift into air. Quiet trip. So long ago. Back roads. Start. Think better. Pause. Reflect. Death asleep. Snoring quietly. Smile. Affection. Compassion. Love angels when they come to visit. But really. Hard row to plow. Depleted soil. Rocky furrows. Sandy ground. Drought. Flood. Pests. Despair. Exaltation after gentle rain. Community. Celebration. Coronation. God-King for a day. Demons appeased. Dragons slain. Hoards guarded. Grain kept in blood. Stored in chains. Viconian cycles. Consumption. Compulsion. Addiction. Thunder. Repeat. Outsiders capture children. Eat them like candy. Despised in-laws. Corrupted language. Blended. Hate. Nostalgia. Rebellion. Repeat. Branches sigh. Deep breaths. Dirt roads. No roads. Get out and walk. So many trips end this way. Animal paths. Scat. Pressed vegetation. Bed for a night. Lay down. Sleep. Time is all there is. Wake. Survey. Sun slanting. Hills. Sliced horizon. Low growl. Dangerous. Invisible. But SO very there. Human sacrifice. Flesh and trinkets offered to a cat. Nature has its way. Growl recedes. Random. Head pounding. Blind escape. Crash. Stop. Breathe. Collect. Quiet. Think. Better now. River. Ramble. Sit. Soak. Cold. Snowball Earth. Climate change. Heart change. Behavior change. Evolution. Devolution. Gut bacteria. Global personality. Health report. Endemic. Pandemic. Academic. Repeat.