Ordinary Lives
QU Montage
By Anthony DiMartino
Always thinking forward, never backward
Always improving something each day
Always adapting to new problems every morning
Always listening to the political debates on TV
Never fully committing to anything it’s too risky
Never getting better at ordinary failures
Never devoting to one hobby, interest, idea it might go away
Never sad or angry or disappointed just living without uniqueness
Doing things normally ordinarily like the rest
Doing what everyone else does because this is forever
Doing the dishes after dinner chores suck
Waiting for responsibilities and adult freedom
Waiting for internship opportunities and underage drinking
Staying away from the sea after eating for my health
Staying sedentary because it’s easier that way
Staying active when it’s necessary
Eating carefully and always reading food labels
Eating fruits and veggies and McDonald’s
Dieting and drinking when fashionable but never consistently
Arriving fashionably late to special occasions purposefully
Arriving with friends to strange parties without a ride home
Watching strangers drunkenly dance with each other
Watching the TV screen while asleep just in case
Watching news specials about how technology controls us
Craving the low buzzing from an aluminum brick
Craving constantly the light from a monitor
Dreaming without nightmares if I can control it
Dreaming with nightmares when I’m sad
Dreaming about dreams without nightmares
Sleeping in familiar bed sets before midnight
When given the chance