[symetrik]

one last day of work

even when the work-life balance squeezed life out of his lungs,
he never really cared but he did what had to be done,
Mark had a jealousy of anyone that had braved the jump
but the urge to leap alone was never enough…
so, there he was,
trapped in a 2-D building; Mark ate from vending machines nightly.
he pretended to believe that the people around him seemed lively
but the cycle repeated, regardless of Mark’s dream to be flying;
he’s afraid of the fight, for he was neither youthful nor sprightly,
but useless and slightly too timid when cute women walked by,
he was too wrapped up in his limits like the loser he might be,
resigned to repeat lies like he might find meaning behind these:
not frantic nor hopeless; he’s “happy” and “focused”…
Mark’s fine, see?

his office, at the time, seemed mundane and hardly decorated
minus a poster of a woman and a candle that wasn’t fragrant.
Mark had tried to find peace through meditation’s sacred ways,
but this story didn’t end peacefully on this fateful day
when Mark turned from his desk and found a fledged but shaking raven
through the cracked glass that overlooked the parking lot’s hot pavement.

Mark tapped the breaking pane, and made sad faces at the baby bird,
as it bravely chirped for help but felt only faintly heard.
he softly mopped the tears and dirt that left his vision crazy blurred,
and waved away the made-up words the drunken pin-up lady slurred.
lately, lots had made him hurt and he had learned to embrace pain,
but strangely, the raven taught him how to see things in a different way.
he always hoped to take a leap; “fly free” was his favourite phrase,
but until today, his feet had always felt that they were stuck in clay,
and it sucks to say that he took this long to have made the choice,
broke his poise and left with earphones in cuz he hated the noise
of fax machines and pointless meetings that his peers enjoyed;
he only said goodbye to the receptionist, in a shaky voice,
he knew he needed to be focused and bet it’d be tough,
but never really cared and he did what had to be done.
he rejoiced when he reached the elevators and headed up.

…

“hey Edith, is that your car alarm that’s going off?”
Edith shrugged.