11-03-2025, 09:52 AM
Recipe for Meaning in Modern Life
Why do I always take the first bite
and feel nothing?
The same dishes in the sink,
laundry on the floor,
bills unpaid, and my children
who still believe
that dreams do not lie.
The seconds between this moment and the next
are the clacking of the rollercoaster before the drop.
The second bite, crushing
the red skin, seeds on my tongue
and the heat rises
to blister my throat in a scream,
masked by a cough
a starter motor struggling
to turn the engine over
one more time.
I count the seconds
and prepare for another bite.
Why do I always take the first bite
and feel nothing?
The same dishes in the sink,
laundry on the floor,
bills unpaid, and my children
who still believe
that dreams do not lie.
The seconds between this moment and the next
are the clacking of the rollercoaster before the drop.
The second bite, crushing
the red skin, seeds on my tongue
and the heat rises
to blister my throat in a scream,
masked by a cough
a starter motor struggling
to turn the engine over
one more time.
I count the seconds
and prepare for another bite.
The secret of poetry is cruelty.--Jon Anderson