housekeeping
housekeeping
by Rory Byrnes
that’s all one really has.
their work
their lonely nights
waiting to fall asleep.
and of course, there’s the alcohol
drinking
but with employees from their 9 to 5 jobs.
“what else to talk about?” one wonders.
politics?
it’s history repeating itself.
a kid grows up;
sees someone he feels connected to and
“i’m glad he’s president.”
the girl:
she’s beautiful but screwed for life.
living with boys she can only
get fulfillment from by providing
as much care and love as she can.
one day she’ll realize
she’s more to life than they’ll ever be.
there’s you:
how’s your new job?
are you even sleeping
dreaming of everything you are and could be?
a little bit more of you
a little less of me.
are your ties your new suitors?
do you savor the taste of your steak?
is it entertaining?
maybe for those whose wives can only cook and clean.
those men, 40, balding,
worn out from their office hours
have no hopes.
maybe their kids were taken away
even though they have more to life than anyone could know.
are you happy?
is revenge as sweet as it seems?
is it over;
the girls who don’t know?
is crying at night and loving you
in the morning enough?
me:
i only wanted a happy ending.
your thoughts, words and opinions are more
to me than shrill are to a whale in the vast ocean
that makes up more than the vicinity of land.
i can’t be with you any longer.
no more than mere acquaintances once stuck in
meaningless lives.
living partners
occasional lovers
nothing more.
nothing less.
someday i wish to experience the thrill and adrenaline
of accomplishment.
finding out my strengths
and winning
winning for only myself.
just this once!
and at this moment, 2:39AM,
while you’re sleeping
it’s not happening.
not with you asleep
happy of you karma,
your luck
your brilliance
it only goes so far.
so thank you.
thank you for trying to right the wrong i once did
but it only helped your cause
and destroyed mine.
never are we to be the same again.
check those numbers,
watch that clock,
do what you can because
my confidence is never coming back.
mmm. The emptiness of life is exponential given the lonliness of the individual–the price we pay to be genuine? Sharing your life with someone, or sharing yourself, can seem such a simple thing at first until lovers realize they don’t really want the same things out of life. Maybe we haven’t truly asked ourselves what we do want out of life. Some relationships can be an oasis in the desert but what about the desert? …And what about when we get to that oasis and find it dried up?
i liked the idiom or mode of expression in this poem with the “speak-thoughts” and questions posed–introspective. It’s a topic that weighs on all of us but with a unique perspective here i think.
Some people are in our lives for a reason and just for a season–for a growing experience–i think this was one of them. It was eerie reading this particular poem cause i had written something a while back sorta from the other point of view–of being left but with no explanation leaving me guessing and adrift. Too bad i couldn’t have gotten this poem as a response–it tells so much.
We are all explorers in our own lives:
“me:
i only wanted a happy ending.
your thoughts, words and opinions are more
to me than shrill are to a whale in the vast ocean
that makes up more than the vicinity of land.”
…and sharing something ‘real’ can mean the world to us for a while until we have to ‘strike out’ once again.
Well done!