*
Always close by my side, he mocks me.
Calling the lack of endearment around me,
self-inflicted.
Late in the afternoon, at work,
“All these people around you need you to
break their bread”, he mulls.
At the bar,
he demands to know
why I hadn’t invited myself to her house.
“You could’ve shown her a good time?!”
I feel pity for him, I can see the mourning,
through his starry eyes.
At the package store,
he tells me “People want only your monies!”
I don’t open my mouth
or make eye contact
to buy a week’s worth of beer and cigarettes.
This social prediction cements his convictions for me.
Out in the balcony,
I smoke small puffs of cold clouds,
as I see a fight unfold in the moonlight.
“Do something,
all that heat in your muscles?
They have never seen passion nor crime”, he begs.
I slide the door quickly to keep him out.
But he has made it.
It’s déjà vu,
when we both crash on the couch.
“Get a dog man,
you are killing me!”, he says.
Women have much use for them,
not me,
I bark at him.
I’ve got time to kill,
and that’s how the TV comes alive.
John Oliver’s out there to hang with.
Late in the night
he promises a revival,
“Go on Tinder,
Swipe to the right”,
to make it alright.
He whispers into my tired eyes.
I slither down on the couch ignoring him.
Before I can invade sleep,
“You are ripening!”, he warns me.
In a matter of minutes, we both become one,
I am him, he is me.
Alone am I.
*
Today, an estimated 28% of all American homes are single-person households, according to a 2018 report from the US Census Bureau. Nearly 5% of the US population lives in retirement homes. More than 2 million Americans are incarcerated, according to a 2018 report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
* * *
Originally composed on: 7/10/2015, 2:10am
About The Article Author:
Our mission with FutureSTRONG Academy – to grow children who respect themselves, their time and their capabilities in a world where distractions are just a click or a swipe away.
I see myself as an advocate for bringing social, emotional and character development to families, schools and communities. I never want to let this idea out of my sight – Our children are not just GPAs. I’m a Writer and a Certified Master Coach in NLP and CBT. Until 2017, I was also a Big Data Scientist. In December of 2044, I hope to win the Nobel. Namasté.
Write to me or call me. Tell me what support from me looks like.
Rachana Nadella-Somayajula,
Program Director & Essential Life Skills Coach for Kids and Busy Parents
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