How It\u2019s Supposed to Be
\nBy
\nJoseph Anthony Petro<\/p>\n
The trajectory is supposed to be
\nLike this\u2014a gently sloping road
\nRising steadily towards the next city over,
\nThe one nestled in purple hills and gleaming rooftops,
\nAnd the road is supposed to be
\nStraight, and the road is supposed to be
\nWide, and the driving safe,
\nAnd the air bright and the sun shining,
\nAnd there are supposed to be
\nSigns, clear as bells, along the way,
\nUnmistakable in their direction
\nAnd sense of helpfulness.
\nThe road is supposed to be
\nFree of obstacles, dotted with pleasant shops
\nWith curios and books, and little cafes
\nWhere you can order the best smoothies
\nAnd read all day if you want to.
\nYes the road is supposed to be
\nFree and easy, a short jaunt from here to there,
\nA Sunday drive in Spring that ends
\nWith a picnic and a blanket and a basket
\nAnd not a single ant or yellow jacket.
\nCome to think of it, who needs a road?
\nWhy shouldn\u2019t it be that you simply walk
\nOut of your front door and wind up exactly
\nAt the beginning and the end, all at once?
\nWhere you walk down your driveway
\nTo the sidewalk which turns on itself
\nIn a closed-circuit loop, leading down
\nAnd around and right back up
\nTo your very own door,
\nAnd so you are where you\u2019re supposed to be,
\nAnd there isn\u2019t any need for a journey.
\nIn fact, why open the door at all?\u00a0 Why even go
\nTo the door in the first place?\u00a0 Why even get out of bed?
\nWhy not just stay inside
\nWhere the covers are warm and the house
\nEmpty and the walls full of the fantasies
\nProjected from your mind,
\nAnd your feelings are fine, in no need
\nOf changing, and all of your memories
\nAre fine, in no need of processing,
\nAnd all of your dreams and goals for the future
\nAre fine, powdery dust, in no need of pursuing?
\nIsn\u2019t that how it\u2019s supposed to be?<\/p>\n