Paul D. Wilke
The Daydream Assassins
Look all around,
in the crowded parks,
on the busy streets,
in the packed trains,
on the narrow balconies,
of cut and paste
tenement blocks.
Search far
and wide for
the one looking up
at nothing
doing nothing
not one goddamn thing
but lying on the grass
or sitting on a park bench
or looking out a window
like an idle idiot
a lazy loafer
looking up at
NOTHING
that we
can see
doing
NOTHING
that we
can see
maybe staring
at the clouds
in the sky
or
the stars
in the heavens
or what the fuck?
There's nothing extraordinary
out of the ordinary
it's all quite ordinary
whatever's up there
that we cannot see.
So then why does he do it?
What good does it do?
What money does it make?
Do something for Christ's sake!
Go someplace
look forward
or backward
or down
or at a screen
or a mirror
or in the medicine cabinet
if that's what you need
just move out
with a purpose
any purpose will do
like the rest of us
But looking up?
And at
NOTHING
in particular?
No, this will not do!
SO
COME NOW
good people of the world!
Grab his attention
and yank him back
DOWN
to where he belongs
with the rest of us
and do it now
FOR HIS OWN GOOD
before anyone else wakes up.
