extremity

clicking on the television,
wiping that index over the
touch screen,
flipping the proper pc switch
or
hearing the statistics on the
radio on the way to work or
whilst already bogged down
in the office, while
working on the production line,
while moving one fry cage to the
next vat,
when others are dying
in mass numbers,
there is an envy in the
extremity.

tragedy hones down the reality
of existence to the head of a diamond,
perfect & exclusive to one
experience which relies on
one objective & all the energy,
all the experiences of one’s life
thrive on survival in the moment,
using every skill at one’s disposal,
wanting nothing but to stop the hunger,
to stop the pain, to pause the
chaos & to prevent further descent
into madness, emotional death,
shutting down & inevitably
the ceasing of all things.

if we could access this extremity
without facing tragedy, if we could
appreciate hunger so much, so as
to delight in the greatest extent the
next time that we eat & to love
rest so much, to indulge in the next
time we get to sleep & to delight in
what is unique to each of us (with
the possibility while we’re all still
alive, to pass on, to exchange, to
hand down & to share) enough so
as to listen, learn & ever be
trying to understand & make
better the lives of those around us
as well as our own,
well,
then that would be something.