The Diner

On that busy highway, swarming like wasps
To the queen
The cars rush passed and never
Stop to see the little lives
Sitting in the booths
Sipping their swirls of coffee

Never stop to say hello to the
Tired eyes and drunken mothers
To the coked up sons of
Cheating fathers

They just drive by
As I sit with my skin stuck to the
Green plastic coated seats
Like a child's tongue to a
Stone cold street lamp

I watch my friend
The sway of her lips around
Each passing word
The size of her eyes
The sideways glance as she admits
Just what happened

Do you remember.....?

Huh? Who?
I knock myself out of my poetic mind
Wishing I had a pen to write down
Those perfect lines I'll never remember
On a napkin I never used

What a waste.

Jared?
Jared Kuceroby?

No. Why?
Did we go to school with him
Or something?

Oh, it's just that he..
He OD'ed last night

And suddenly my food tastes
Like volcanic ash against my teeth
Another overdose
Another wasted life

It bothered me, not because I didn't
Know him better first
Or even remembered who he was

It bothered me because
The fact that he OD'ed
Barely phased me at all

And I began to wonder
As the oblivious vehicles rushed by
If this is the way
Life's supposed to be


I began to wonder
If anyone would chat about my death
Over coffee
As though it meant nothing at all.

Reviews

[Yo Diggity]

I'm not sure what it says about me or my city...but I found this easy to relate to. One can't help but wonder....were the drugs bad or do people just turn into what was inside them all along. I wish I possessed the words to bring you solace. I could sure as s**t use some myself. Digging the imagery. Nice observations. Thanks for the read.

[Chris Smith Welshpoetcs]

This hits hard with sheer impact, very strong my friend.

[D. Pesek]

Ah this is an interesting piece. The set up was nice, it built imagery in my head well. What really hit me was the last 4 lines about people chatting about your death. It really got me thinking. This sort of situation happens a lot, and not just in bad areas. People die and their distant peers discuss it so casually.

I would like to think that the news of this death was taken so lightly because of the way that the young gentleman died. I feel that people are less inclined to feel sorry for someone if the death was that person's fault (In this case, drug usage) as opposed to being murdered or contracting a disease. If either of the latter two situations had been the cause of death, surely more emotion would have been evoked by his peers.

[Lily Mae]

As I read I was reminded of times when I've heard news like that and in my own numb state just had a momentary aha moment and then life as usual.. We get so bombarded by life in general what should matter just is benign.. Great write Sarah you know you always get my brain going lol :) x

[KAREN]

Sad, deep and powerful write! The sad thing is we all sit and talk about death like it's nothing sometimes.

[Kiri Nells]

I agree with Mr. Silence... It does have that classic poetry reading feel to it. TS, maybe? It seems real enough, something that I feel like I've been through, but haven't. So is it symbolic, that I feel like I've endured it, but never really did? Or was it that I have endured similar things? "I know I should feel bad, but I don't" or "I know I love but I don't know what it feels like" sort of situations. Whatever my stupid life is going on about, great write!

[.]

what a interesting mind..poetic thoughts mingle with the mundane..but never mundane...nice write

[Silence]

I'm not sure if this is what you were going for, but it has a very, "Jazz," feel, like you could tell this poem in front of a crowd and they'd snap afterwards. Besides that, the imagery and tone are spot on, and grip my attention through the entire poem. Good job!

[Neva Flores Smith - Cha..]

I have wondered these same things even when people just pass naturally. People seem to forget us so quickly. Even when the deaths are murders, suicides, people forget us so quickly...........excellent piece.