telephone.

the earth was shattered by the ring of a telephone.
fluctuating sonic waves from deep inside a pocket.
distaste in the voices of those deemed superior.
a half-hearted explanation from tired lips.

too many days and nights spent trying.
efforts built on good intention always falling short.
maybe it is harder to catch a break than it seems.
when the shadows outside are growing.
drowning headlights on the highway scene.

thirty years from now it will hardly matter.
in a hundred either will my name.
today the sting of failure rests inside my veins.
a lead based paint slow gurgle through the circulatory.

my breathing has slowed down.
these hands have ceased to shake.
as i kick around the once big dreams.
that are running down the pavement away from me.

it ends up in front of your face before you know.
a grown up proposition to take away your soul.
take a desk, a pen, a laptop computer and create.
jump through hoops, wear a suit, don your pain.
it's all going to be all right if you follow the steps.

snake oil salesmen promising protection.
sometimes the day ends premature.
in the morning when the phone starts to ring.
a communication breakdown to tell you that we're all really nothing.

shhhhh! listen:

to the voices inside my head, lamenting, posturing, and leading me out to pasture.