He came home and closed the door behind him,
To shut out the world for a short time,
Turned off the phones, unplugged the PC,
Crawled into his favorite chair with a bottle and a glass,
A playlist of oldies spinning on low in the background,
To watch the evening turn slowly to nighttime,
To sort through the clutter in his mind and heart,
To drift away through memories and images,
To wait for the rise of a new day,
To shut out the world for a short time…
The liquor was bitter and unfulfilling,
He set aside the glass unfinished,
To concentrate on the chaos filling his mind,
As the night’s dark blanket enveloped the room
His consciousness began to melt away,
The storm of thoughts relinquishing their hold,
Eventually surrendering to the darkness and fatigue,
To shut out the world for a short time…
Morning’s sun filtered through the front window,
Waking from the fitful coma still sunken in the chair,
He threw off the fog of sleep rising slowly to meet the new
day,
The commotion and confusion of the evening
Replaced by the physical discomforts of age and heat
Turning off the hiss of the amplifier he wondered
What will this day bring?
He only wanted to shut out the world for a short time…
