sand

four minutes have passed by
numbly
staring at the bathroom ceiling
the water of the tub
lukewarm

four months have passed by
blindly
eyes fixed on screens and pages
the place I live unchanging
but for the fluctuating piles
of cups and clothes

four years have passed me by
quietly
there should have been more
more yelling
more laughter
more passion

life feels like it’s slipping through my fingers
as my blanketed mind watches
wordlessly

balloons

Things were straightforward.

The homeless guy is hungry,

Give him food.

There is trash beside the road,

Pick it up.

Someone feels left out,

Invite them in.

It felt easy. Obvious.

Don’t be a jerk.

Treat other’s the way you want to be treated.

Take care of the earth and each other.

but then things became layered

and connected

and expanded

and tangled

and messy

and one day you woke up and realized that your face now makes the same look that you saw above you all of those years

the skepticism, the dullness, the eye bags, the frown lines, the tiredness, and just a hint

of envy.