It's amazing really, the distance between we human beings. A simple automated greeting, a few words, perhaps a question, maybe two (albeit nothing to provoke long-winded responses), a feverishly paced wave goodbye, and then that last awkward moment where the person who initiated the farewell checks in to be sure he didn't leave anything out on the social obligation chit chat check list.
So weightless our connection to our friends, family, communities... and any other human life we encounter throughout the coarse of our work-a-day lives. Heads down, production up. Hearts are emotional train wrecks that need to be constantly monitored so that they don't over take the rhyme and rhythm of our regimented lives. Who knows how we would ever keep our positions, let alone build up our careers, if we took a day off every time we started questioning the meaning of it all. Lord knows those questions are like viruses, spreading from one thought to another, infecting our perceptions and our abilities to cope with that small feeling, located on the edge of all our lives, that this isn't what we really want, is it?
Today I lay with my lover on a soft, velvet comforter, fully clothed and riddled with premenstrual angst and the stirrings of oncoming cramps. He held me so close that I could feel the wiry bristles of his lynx-inspired ginger chops lightly stroke my face. I heard his breath, and listened while he sank deeper into the rhythm of sleep. Although I never followed his lead, I did feel how my whole body slowly released its tension and angst, how the premenstrual chaos of both my mind and body smoothed out and then settled, and how peaceful it was to experience the medicine of intimate human contact.
When I was eighteen, I got my septum pierced. The piercer said he would do it on the count of three. He began the countdown, 1...2...but he did it right before three. It hurt so bad it made my eyes blurry…but at the same time, I liked it. I even tugged on the ring while it was still tender which kind of re-inspired the feeling. What does this have to do with your piece? I don't know, but I really like what you wrote. It is in your face, but done sweetly. The second piece leaves me with a feeling of...well...peace.
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