Hemispheric Terrorism
Hemispheric Terrorism
by shawn misener
There are places in this world bent
by terrible doubt and the disturbing
feeling that if you let your guard down
for one second the whole thing will
collapse around you, leaving you
dumbfounded in the ruins of your lifestyle.
Your family will disown you for your stupidity,
the bill collectors will scurry off with your couch,
your love will have been lying to you all along-
see, here is her secret affair with a man who
looks like a model and scampers about
in a Bentley from his eight-car garage.
It might not be places in this world,
it might just be times in this world
where the mind itself bends and you see
yourself peering at what’s in front of you
with a tilted head, unable to make sense
of this terribly emotional condition, the
underlying currents that only some people feel,
and you are one of the lucky ones.
You feel it, it’s between your toes, it slides
up and down your spine and fucks with
your chakras, which at this point aren’t
glowing like they should.
Life is rich and frightening and you really
shouldn’t spend so much of it trying to
explain it in words, you should know by now
that in the end that small feeling of
personal accomplishment will be overshadowed
and eventually overthrown by a shapeless
sense of dread and futility. You should try reading
Hesse again and crying in the shaded corner,
or maybe batter yourself over the heart with Kafka.
Better yet, do both and cry, nobody will feel sorry for you.
great photo choice, mr. editor.
ah…the kind of epistemological lonliness that racks your happiness, evicts purpose, and causes one to curse God. No Prozac need apply. Reminds me of what Mr. Follett was saying in his piece about Eastern sickness vs. Western malaise…east is physical illness and west is stress induced.
Accurate piece on the prospects of the current human condition…a modernism that would have got you into bed with Plath and Sexton at the same time.
Enjoyed it! It didn’t brighten my day of course, but it feels good in a way to know that I’m not alone. Was it Nikos Kazantzakis who said life is a groping for purpose in the dark. (?) Anyway, you’ll want to slap me for this…when you mentioned chakras I immediately thought of Naruto (shame on consumer entertainment me). But I am interested in how you came up with title if that’s something your’e comfortable disclosing.
Oh, the title is just a statement about the anxious brain, terrorized by anxiety and uncertainty. I’m a slave to my anxious brain say, 14% of the time. Thanks for the comment Quasi.
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