There are no clouds today; no laugher worshipping
an endless sky of windless decay.
There are no trees singing in silent fragrances
in the fields where children play.
Today time has stalled becoming this witness
on these tired streets where even history
refuses to stay.
And a stranger says this is a beautiful day
as he walks past me in a wheelchair
that scratches the sidewalk’s hungry itch.
I watch him, as I am just a shadow on a corner
of nowhere watching people who pretend
to be somewhere
with their disobedient eyes obeying the wave
and smile of a kindness
that only fools the mindless.
And for this moment they had me; almost
until my identity has become faceless
in the reality of their misdirection.
Nobody knows me,
and I refuse to care because today
I have no heart to share;
I have no smile to spare
and I do not care if they stop
and stare
in this atmosphere of deep thought.
They are interpretations who limp
around on crutches only supported
by fractured intelligence and hyper extended
egos barely able to stand on their own.
And nobody knows me
because I refuse to breathe their air today;
I am stuck inside this wind tunnel of insanity
where I seem to be the only one
normal.
I like it this way because my mind
is one of a kind right now. My brain
is protecting me from this modern day collapse
as these silhouettes around me
who are melting from the acidic eruption
of mental rain.
There are no cars on the streets today; no traffic
of useless study observing the sane.
There are no birds flying in fallen skies
hypnotized by dreamers who have struggled to maintain.
Today I have become this plot of illusion
mentally stable enough to capture life’s pain.
And a familiar face recognizes my smile
he is walking closer but now stops and runs away
his scent was the same as my eyes.
Nobody knows me
not even myself.
© 2010
Tarringo T. Vaughan
