One-Hit Wonder
In the end the ants took over.
The collapse was like a rolling dust cloud,
so we rolled up our sleeves and disappeared.
We were cockroaches in the night.
I alone survived.
I took a submarine to a cave
at the bottom of the sea.
Sit by the fire, they said.
Then, silence.
I must be patient.
All things grow out of silence.
We literally hear silence.
Music depends on silence.
Patience is required.
It was then I heard the scream.
A fathomless scream passing through nature.
Maybe I have depersonalizaion disorder.
Maybe it’s all in my head.
Maybe I think too much.
Nothing is real anymore.
I’m standing on a beach, looking out to sea.
On the horizon sits a freighter.
To my right stands a woman with dark hair
and a mole on her left cheek.
The sun is setting as I walk her way.
I introduce myself.
Her name is Sheryl.
I tell her of my fear that my mind is fracturing.
Nothing is real to me, I say.
Everything is real, she says.
You just need glasses.
BTW, she says, have you opened the book I left for you?
Yes, but all the pages are blank.
Have patience, she says. The seed has been planted.
The roots grow strong. Have patience.
Cultivate silence; everything grows out of silence.
